Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS is taking to improve access to clinical trials for people with rare blood cancers.

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients in the National Health Service, including those with rare blood cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

The Department-funded National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure, which supports NHS patients, the public, and NHS organisations across England, to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trials into rare blood cancers. NIHR infrastructure schemes aim to build research capacity and capability across all geographies, settings, and disease areas within the NHS.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve access to clinical trials in the NHS for cancer patients across the country, including patients with rare cancers.

The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Bill and its ambitions to incentivise clinical trials and access to innovative treatments for rare cancers.

The NIHR provides an online service called 'Be Part of Research', which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them, including research into blood cancer.