Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that there is sufficient resource and capacity to meet waiting time standards for colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy for suspected lower gastrointestinal cancer.

NHS England and NHS Improvement regional teams are leading work to ensure that cancer waiting times standards are met. This involves continually assessing demand and capacity for diagnostic tests.

In December 2016, NHS England announced that £200 million would be made available to Cancer Alliances over the next two years (2017/18 and 2018/19) to support delivery, including of early diagnosis. Cancer Alliances will be the driving force to deliver transformation of cancer services locally bringing together senior leaders from the region to effectively make decisions on the management of resources.

Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group carried out a procurement of local diagnostic services to enable wider provision in the community of colonoscopy, flexi-sigmoidoscopy and endoscopy services.

The majority of patients are being diagnosed and treated promptly against a backdrop of more people being referred and diagnosed than ever before. In 2016/17 the National Health Service carried out 21.4 million diagnostic tests, 7 million more than in 2010.