Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the national cancer plan will (1) provide further detail on the plans to introduce opt-out smoking cessation in all routine care in hospitals, and (2) expand smoking cessation services to non-routine care settings such as accident and emergency departments.

Our 10-Year Health Plan for England has set out a series of national actions to address the major risk factors associated with cancer. The National Cancer Plan, due to be published later this year, will build on the shift from sickness to prevention set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The plan will seek to reduce cancer risk factors, including smoking, and will include further detail about how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients.

The 10-Year Health Plan also committed to ensuring all hospitals integrate ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation interventions into routine care. Within their 2025/26 allocations, integrated care boards have access to funding in order to support the rollout of tobacco dependency treatment services in hospital settings, including acute and mental health inpatient settings and maternity services. Future funding decisions, including any decision to expand tobacco dependency treatment services to additional settings beyond routine care, are subject to the Spending Review process.