Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional measures and resources she plans to put in place to tackle the backlog of cancer (a) diagnosis, (b) care and (c) treatment in Weaver Vale constituency.

We have committed a further £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million targeted Investment Fund made available in 2021/22 to increase capacity in elective services, including for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ targets returning the number of people waiting more than 62 days to start treatment following an urgent referral due to suspected cancer to pre-pandemic levels by March 2023 and to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard by March 2024.

Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA) is committed to reducing backlogs in cancer diagnosis, treatment and care; raising awareness of the need for early detection of cancer; reducing inequalities in access to cancer services; and championing innovations in finding cancer at the earliest stages.