Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase funding for the research and development of diagnostic (a) tests and (b) tools to help support GPs to (i) diagnose and (ii) detect less survivable cancers (A) earlier and (B) faster.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.6 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.

The level of funding for research and development generally depends on funding applications received. The NIHR continues to welcome high quality, high impact funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including less survivable cancers.

In September 2024, the NIHR awarded £2.4 million to develop an artificial intelligence tool to support general practitioners (GPs) to identify suspected cancer faster and more effectively. It will use lung and pancreatic cancers as the first test cases. The NIHR also funded recently completed, January 2025, research into understanding how GPs use existing national guidance for urgent suspected cancer referral in primary care, with the findings expected to be published later this year.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer earlier and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for all patients across England. We are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres.

We are also investing an additional £889 million in GPs to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade. We are committed to ensuring that GPs have the right training and systems to identify cancer. The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients. It will aim to speed up diagnosis and treatment and ensure all patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.