Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to deliver (a) workforce and (b) training requirements to support an expansion of fresh-freezing facilities for brain cancer tissue in the NHS.

There are currently no plans by the Department to expand fresh-freezing facilities for brain cancer tissue. Pathology services in England are delivered through 27 regional pathology networks, and offer a comprehensive range of tests, including the analysis of brain tissues.

Individual pathology services maintain their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fresh tissue samples and for the snap-freezing of tissue samples. These SOPs outline local capabilities and practices.

In the new year the Department will publish the National Cancer Plan. The plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as research and innovation. The plan will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experiences and outcomes for all patient groups, including those with brain cancer.