Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on procuring proton beam therapy equipment for hospitals in the UK; when he plans to announce the supplier of proton beam therapy technology to the NHS; and what evaluation he has undertaken of the cost and clinical effectiveness of rival designs.

On 11 March 2015, the Department announced that Varian Medical Systems was the preferred supplier of proton beam therapy equipment for the new United Kingdom service on both sites. Evaluation of the bids included a thorough assessment of costs, technology and clinical effectiveness.