Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many radiotherapy machines are currently in operation in NHS hospitals, and how this compares with projected clinical need over the next five and ten years.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The number of radiotherapy treatment machines in use across the National Health Service in England is not recorded as part of a nationally mandated data collection.
The commissioning of radiotherapy services is overseen by local systems. They have the responsibility to ensure that sufficient capacity is in place for local populations, taking account of the different factors that can affect demand and capacity. The projected number of machines needed to meet future demand depends on a range of factors including clinical practice, for instance fraction protocols, patient choice, between different equivalent treatments, local working practices, for instance the hours and days of operation, as well as the technical specification of treatment machines, and the throughput per hour.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of staffing levels for oncology services in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Residents of Bletchley who access oncology care would most likely attend Milton Keynes University Hospital which offers on-site chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the latter led by the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Workforce reviews are currently under way to ensure that this trust can accommodate increasing demand for services and to ensure that residents can access new treatments when they become available.
The National Cancer Plan, which will be published shortly, will highlight how we will reform our workforce to improve cancer patient outcomes, including for those patients in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency. We will ensure that we have the right staff, in the right places, with the right skills, so patients can access quality care when and where they need it.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides to Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust in Chelmsford to meet cancer waiting times and ensure people with cancer receive timely care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving cancer waiting times for patients is a high priority for the Government.
We are seeking to achieve this goal through the increased use of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) which will increase the available capacity and bring healthcare closer to the community. CDCs are now delivering additional tests and checks on 170 sites across the country, with 103 of these being open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, offering at least one test in expanded hours, meaning patients can access vital diagnostic tests around their busy working lives.
The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is the local provider for cancer services in Chelmsford, has been awarded funding for a replacement radiotherapy machine.
The National Cancer Plan, which is due to be published soon, will set out how we will increase performance against our standards, speed up diagnosis and treatment, and ultimately provide better outcomes for cancer patients. It will ensure patients, including those in Chelmsford, have access to the latest treatments and technology and improve patient experience and outcomes.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that 85 per cent of breast cancer patients start treatment within 62 days of urgent referral.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cancer patients are waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment, and improving performance against cancer waiting time standards, including the 62-day standard, is a priority for the Government.
It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including breast cancer, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for patients across England. The Department is committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment so that people with cancer can access the care they need more quickly.
We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet demand through investment in new diagnostic capacity, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners. As a first step towards earlier diagnosis and faster treatment, the NHS is now delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans and appointments each week.
In May 2025, NHS England announced the world’s first roll out of liquid biopsy testing, which is now available for all eligible breast cancer patients, and which aims to speed up diagnosis and inform better treatment options for those with breast cancer.
£70 million has been invested into new LINAC radiotherapy machines, to replace older, less efficient machines. This vital investment demonstrates our commitment to improving radiotherapy services, and will ensure that the most advanced treatments are available to patients who need it and will boost productivity, reducing waiting lists and ultimately improving outcomes.
The upcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment. It will ensure that patients have access to the latest treatments and technology and bring cancer care back into communities which need it the most. The plan will be published early this year.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Cancer Plan will address (a) access to and (b) capacity for radiotherapy services for cancer patients.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as how we will reduce waiting times for diagnosis and treatment.
Improving access to all treatment services, including radiotherapy, remains a key priority for the Government. Our commitment to radiotherapy services is demonstrated by our £70 million investment in new LINAC radiotherapy machines to replace older, less efficient equipment. This crucial investment will boost treatment efficiency and productivity, freeing up capacity and reduce waiting times for patients. These new machines are currently being rolled out and have already started treating cancer patients across the country.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Cancer Plan will address access to, and capacity for, radiotherapy services for cancer patients.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as how we will reduce waiting times for diagnosis and treatment.
Improving access to all treatment services, including radiotherapy, remains a key priority for the Government. Our commitment to radiotherapy services is demonstrated by our £70 million investment in new LINAC radiotherapy machines to replace older, less efficient equipment. This crucial investment will boost treatment efficiency and productivity, freeing up capacity and reduce waiting times for patients. These new machines are currently being rolled out and have already started treating cancer patients across the country.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that cancer patients in Newbury are treated within 62 days.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million appointments across elective, diagnostic, and cancer care, having now delivered over five million more appointments as the first step to ensuring earlier and faster access to treatment.
Between November 2024 to October 2025, approximately 110,000 more patients were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days compared to the previous 12 months. This supports the achievement of the 62-day treatment standard, as faster diagnosis means that patients can begin treatment sooner.
The latest available data shows that the 62-day treatment standard for the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board has improved by 3.5% between October 2024 and October 2025.
However, we recognise that there is more to do, including for patients in Newbury.
To ensure that the most advanced treatment is available to the patients who need it, and so that patients can be treated sooner, the Government has also invested £70 million of central funding to replace outdated radiotherapy machines, including one at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to increase (a) capacity of and (b) access to radiotherapy cancer treatment in (i) England and (ii) Stratford-upon-Avon.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Radiotherapy is crucial to cancer treatment, and it remains a key priority for the Government to reduce radiotherapy waiting times and provide high quality treatment for all patients, including those in Stratford-upon-Avon. This is why the Government has invested £70 million of central funding on 28 new LINAC radiotherapy machines across the country to replace older, less efficient radiotherapy machines. This crucial investment will boost treatment efficiency and productivity, freeing up capacity and reduce waiting times for patients. These new machines are currently being rolled out and have already started treating cancer patients across the country.
The Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust received £2.3 million to replace ageing radiotherapy equipment from an underspend in the National Health Service’s capital settlement for 2024/25.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local cancer treatment facilities, such as mobile chemotherapy units and hospital breast cancer clinics, have sufficient resources to meet demand and reduce waiting times for patients.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the plan for reforming elective care, the Government is committed to improving performance on cancer waiting times.
To improve access to cancer treatment, the Government is investing an extra £26 billion in the National Health Service and providing it with the resources it needs, including community diagnostic centres, to ensure patients are diagnosed faster and earlier so that they receive timely access to treatment. £70 million will also be spent on replacing out-of-date radiotherapy equipment so that cancer patients benefit from faster and safer cancer treatment using the most up-to-date technology. Replacing these older machines will save as many as 13,000 appointments from being lost to equipment breakdown.
NHS England has partnered with the charity Hope For Tomorrow to establish mobile chemotherapy units across England, bringing chemotherapy and cancer treatments closer to patients' homes, reducing waiting time for hospital appointments, with units staffed by specialist nurses offering personalised care.
The NHS has made important progress on the treatment of cancer, including breast cancer, delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week to ensure faster treatment for those who need it most.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with radiotherapy professionals on the upcoming national cancer plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have been working closely with radiotherapy professionals and the national clinical adviser for radiotherapy, throughout the development the National Cancer Plan to understand the specific challenges that radiotherapy services face. We will continue to work with professionals to identify how we can reduce barriers to access, cut waiting lists, and improve outcomes for cancer patients who require radiotherapy services. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years.
All key evidence from clinicians, stakeholders and parliamentarians has been considered in the plan's development, as well as over 11,000 responses, many of which were from clinicians to our Call for Evidence. We are grateful for everyone's involvement in this important work.