Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to work with devolved administrations to develop a shared nationwide research strategy for rare and less common cancers, including sarcoma, to overcome barriers including market failure in the development of new drugs and underfunding, and to promote clinical trials and patients' equitable access to them and speed up the development of new treatments.

There are no plans to work with the devolved administrations to develop a nationwide research strategy for rare and less common cancers. However, both the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which is the Department’s research delivery arm, and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are members of the UK Cancer Research Strategy Forum, which brings together funders and other stakeholders from across the United Kingdom to share information and identify areas for collaboration where beneficial. Similarly, we acknowledge the importance of a UK-wide data focus, and that health and care data can be accessed safely and effectively across the UK to support individual care and to improve outcomes.

The Department is proud to invest £1.6 billion each year on research through the NIHR. NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.

The NIHR is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with rare cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments, by working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of the medicines and therapies of the future, including for rare cancers.

The Government supports the Rare Cancers Bill and its ambitions to incentivise clinical trials and increase access to innovative treatments for rare cancers, such as sarcoma. As such, the Department has been closely engaging with the devolved administrations who are supportive of the ambitions of the bill.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients across England. It will ensure that more patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and to clinical trials.

The Government recognises the crucial need for research into all forms of cancer, including rare and less common cancers. It remains committed to the role of research to improve outcomes for patients.