Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 20 January 2026 (HL13591), whether the ambition set out in the National Cancer Plan for all cancer patients to receive a genomic test within a clinically relevant timeframe includes the full range of biomarker tests, both genomic and non-genomic molecular, used to determine eligibility for cancer precision medicines.

The ambition set out in the National Cancer Plan for all cancer patients to receive a genomic test within a clinically relevant timeframe reflects the Government’s commitment to expanding access to precision diagnostics that inform treatment decisions.

The NHS Genomic Medicine Service is currently focused on delivering genomic testing in line with the National Genomic Test Directory. As set out in the plan, over the next five years the service will extend circulating tumour DNA and other biomarker testing to additional cancers, subject to evidence of clinical efficacy and value for money.

The scope of testing will continue to be reviewed, and additional biomarker tests, both genomic and non-genomic, will be brought into routine use where clinically appropriate and cost effective.