Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason age is used to determine eligibility for cancer clinical trials; and whether he is taking steps to ensure that people aged between 16 and 24 have equitable access to such trials.

The Department is committed to maximising the United Kingdom’s potential to lead the world in clinical research, with the aim of ensuring that all patients, including teenagers and young adults with cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

The eligibility of patients for a clinical trial is determined by a set of criteria designed to ensure the safety of participants and the scientific validity of the study. These criteria are decided by each study's sponsors and researchers, based on scientific evidence, study goals, and safety considerations.

The Department is working closely with the National Health Service, industry, academia, research regulators, and charities to make clinical research in the UK more efficient, more competitive, and more accessible. We expect these efforts to attract more commercial investment in clinical research and yield a broad and diverse portfolio of clinical trials in the UK, including clinical trials for teenagers and young adults with cancer.

The Department funded National Institute for Health and Care Research funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trial participation for young people with cancer.