Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to work with Young Lives vs Cancer to deliver the travel fund for young cancer patients.

The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families across the United Kingdom.

Through the National Cancer Plan, the Government is committing up to £10 million a year to a new fund open to all children and young people in England with cancer and their families regardless of income, to support them with the cost of travelling to and from treatment. This commitment sits alongside wider action to transform cancer care for children and young people.

The Department has worked closely with the Children and Young People (CYP) Cancer Taskforce, to develop ambitious commitments on CYP cancer in the National Cancer Plan. The taskforce brought together experts across a range of fields to identify ways to improve outcomes and patient experience for young cancer patients and has been committed to ensuring the voices of key charity stakeholders and patients are included.

That’s why the Government assembled a Charity Sub-Group and Patient Experience Panel to ensure this expertise fed directly into the work of the taskforce.

The Government is committed to continuing its work with key cancer partners, including Young Lives vs Cancer, to deliver the commitments outlined in the National Cancer Plan.