Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to implement a cancer workforce plan to ensure an adequately skilled and sustainable workforce.

The National Health Service published the interim NHS People Plan on 3 June 2019. It sets out the long-term vision and immediate actions to meet the challenges of supply, reform, culture and leadership.

The final NHS People Plan will be informed by the Cancer Workforce Plan for England, published in December 2017 by Health Education England. This set out plans to expand capacity and skills in the cancer workforce, including targeting additional training support for seven priority professions such as clinical radiology, histopathology, oncology and diagnostic and therapeutic radiography. Since 2017 there has been a net increase of 833 full time equivalent staff across the seven priority professions.

The final NHS People Plan will be published in early 2020 and will set out a clear framework for collective action on workforce priorities, with a focus on growing and sustaining a well-skilled workforce across the whole National Health Service.