Cancer services

Health and Social Care Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 6 Jul 2021 Closed: 1 Aug 2022 Parliament page
This inquiry will ask why cancer outcomes in England continue to lag behind comparable countries internationally and examine evidence relating to the underlying causes of these differences. We will also consider what impact disruption to cancer services during the covid-19 pandemic will have on efforts to catch up, and ask … Read more
15 Recommendations
15 Conclusions
1 Report
5 Oral sessions
3 Letters
5 Events
Activity timeline 15 events
13 Jun
2022
Report published
5 Apr
2022
Report published
29 Mar
2022
Correspondence
25 Jan
2022
Correspondence
20 Jan
2022
Oral evidence
20 Jan
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
9 Nov
2021
Oral evidence
9 Nov
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
26 Oct
2021
Oral evidence
26 Oct
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 5, Palace of Westminster
19 Oct
2021
Correspondence
14 Sep
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 5 sessions
20 Jan 2022
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Dame Cally Palmer · NHS England Judith Neptial, cancer patient Maria Caulfield · Department of Health and Social Care Mark Foulkes · Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust Professor Peter Johnson · NHS England William Vineall · Department of Health and Social Care
9 Nov 2021
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Anna Jewell · Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce Ian Vousden · Kent and Medway Cancer Alliance Jane Lyons · Cancer52 Katy Hall, Expert by experience Professor David Baldwin · School of Medicine (University of Nottingham) Professor David Shackley · Greater Manchester Cancer Sarah Stevens · National Disease Registration Service, NHS Digital
26 Oct 2021
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Baroness Delyth Morgan · Breast Cancer Now David Watson · The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Dr Philippa Hetherington, Expert by experience Professor David Cunningham · Association of Cancer Physicians Professor Mike Griffin · Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Professor Nick James · Institute of Cancer Research Professor Pat Price · Action Radiotherapy
14 Sep 2021
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Andrea Brady, person with lived experience Dr Andrew Millar · North Central London Cancer Alliance Dr Jeanette Dickson · Council of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Dr Richard Roope · Royal College of General Practitioners Michelle Mitchell · Cancer Research UK Professor Peter Sasieni · King's College London, Clinical Trials Unit Sir Harpal Kumar · GRAIL Europe
13 Jul 2021
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Dame Cally Palmer · NHS England John Butler · International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership Prof Jon Emery · University of Melbourne Prof Peter Johnson · NHS England Prof Sir Mike Richards, Former National Cancer Director
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Twelfth Report - Cancer services HC 551 5 Apr 2022 30 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
17 results
Clear
1 Conclusion Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
We welcome the development of Rapid Diagnostic Centres and Community Diagnostic Centres, particularly in giving...
We welcome the development of Rapid Diagnostic Centres and Community Diagnostic Centres, particularly in giving GPs more effective referral routes for possible cancer symptoms, especially those which are non-specific but concerning. However, we have heard differing accounts about the impact … Read more
Government Response
The government states there are already 84 pathways live transforming the way that people with symptoms not specific to one cancer are diagnosed or have cancer ruled out, and have set expectations in the NHS Operational Planning Guidance for 2022/23 to extend coverage.
Department of Health and Social Care
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3 Conclusion Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
Cancer screening is a vital tool for early diagnosis, but even before the pandemic there...
Cancer screening is a vital tool for early diagnosis, but even before the pandemic there were serious concerns about the effectiveness of national cancer screening services, particularly over IT systems and the speed at which innovations have been implemented. New … Read more
Government Response
The government describes the existing cancer screening programmes, including the introduction of primary Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) screening in cervical screening in 2019, continued work to evaluate self-sampling for HPV, expansion of the home testing programme, and progress in tackling the backlog of invitations caused by the pandemic.
Department of Health and Social Care
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4 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
The Government should implement the recommendations of Professor Sir Mike Richards’ review of cancer screening...
The Government should implement the recommendations of Professor Sir Mike Richards’ review of cancer screening as a priority and ensure that there is a clear plan in place to rapidly conduct appointments missed during the pandemic.
Government Response
The government states that through NHS screening programmes they are able to reduce mortality and morbidity and there have been important changes in screening programmes in recent years.
Department of Health and Social Care
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6 Conclusion Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
The Government’s recent announcement of a £2.3 billion investment in 100 new Community Diagnostic Centres...
The Government’s recent announcement of a £2.3 billion investment in 100 new Community Diagnostic Centres is welcome and could provide a significant increase in physical diagnostic capacity. However, it is not yet clear how much additional capacity this investment will … Read more
Government Response
The government announced a £2.3 billion investment to increase the volume of diagnostic activity and to roll out up to 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) by March 2025 and outlined workforce planning measures including expanding training places, streamlining training routes, optimising the use of existing cross-professional workforce good practices to free up capacity and improving workforce productivity through digital diagnostic investment.
Department of Health and Social Care
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10 Conclusion Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
Notwithstanding the lag on published data, on the basis of evidence supplied by the Government...
Notwithstanding the lag on published data, on the basis of evidence supplied by the Government and the NHS, and Cancer Research UK’s analysis, we do not believe that the NHS is on track to meet the 75% early diagnosis ambition … Read more
Government Response
The Government welcomes the Committee's recognition of the work that is already under way to deliver on the ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers by 2028 and describes programmes already underway.
Department of Health and Social Care
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12 Conclusion Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
We recognise that the disruption to cancer services during the pandemic was primarily driven by...
We recognise that the disruption to cancer services during the pandemic was primarily driven by the need to mitigate the risk posed by Covid-19 to patients undergoing cancer treatment. We also recognise the efforts made by the NHS to maintain … Read more
Government Response
Cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained a top priority and there were over 4.9 million urgent referrals and over 600,000 people started cancer treatment between March 2020 and March 2022 and describes existing NHS Long Term Plan ambitions on early cancer diagnosis and actions local systems are required to take.
Department of Health and Social Care
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13 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England must publish a detailed analysis...
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England must publish a detailed analysis of the extent of the cancer backlog to support the delivery of the elective care recovery plan. The Department should work with NHS England to … Read more
Government Response
The government stated cancer diagnosis and treatment has remained a top priority throughout the pandemic with substantial funding and targets being set for local systems to reduce cancer diagnosis times and to reduce the shortfall in the number of first treatments.
Department of Health and Social Care
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16 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
As part of its new cancer plan, the Government should include a plan for how...
As part of its new cancer plan, the Government should include a plan for how to better align the technology appraisals carried out by NICE with the regulatory process applied by the MHRA, in order to reduce the delay between … Read more
Government Response
The government states that NICE is committed to publishing guidance around the time of licensing and has consistently delivered on this commitment in the majority of cases, with measures in place for funding ahead of NICE guidance and collaboration between MHRA, NICE, and NHSE&I.
Department of Health and Social Care
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17 Conclusion Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
The Government and the NHS have recognised some of the issues with radiotherapy delivery in...
The Government and the NHS have recognised some of the issues with radiotherapy delivery in the NHS and have made welcome commitments to resolve these, such as investing in new radiotherapy machines and the proton beam centres in Manchester and … Read more
Government Response
The government claims to be already addressing concerns about radiotherapy services by investing in new equipment and supporting optimal machine utilisation, staff training, and technology.
Department of Health and Social Care
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18 Conclusion Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
The Government’s new cancer plan should provide an update to the 2014 radiotherapy vision which...
The Government’s new cancer plan should provide an update to the 2014 radiotherapy vision which should include a long-term rolling investment programme for outdated radiotherapy equipment as well as changes to the national radiotherapy tariff to incentivise the delivery of … Read more
Government Response
The government stated that until the 2021 Spending Review, replacing equipment resided with NHS Trusts, but since 2016 NHS England has taken steps to ensure every NHS Trust has access to modern equipment and has invested £162m to replace or upgrade over 100 radiotherapy treatment machines.
Department of Health and Social Care
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21 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
As part of the long-term plan for the cancer workforce, the Government and NHS England...
As part of the long-term plan for the cancer workforce, the Government and NHS England should develop specific proposals for improving the retention of experienced cancer staff, including targeting burnout and improving the day-to-day working conditions of staff. (Paragraph 115) … Read more
Government Response
The government states that the forthcoming 10 Year Cancer Plan, NHS People Plan and 22/23 NHS priorities address workforce wellbeing, including staff mental health hubs and a retention programme.
Department of Health and Social Care
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22 Conclusion Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
Cancer Alliances have had a positive impact on transforming cancer services and sharing best practice,...
Cancer Alliances have had a positive impact on transforming cancer services and sharing best practice, and enjoy strong support from the sector. However, it is clear that while they are having some success, there is still significant unwarranted variation across … Read more
Government Response
The government states that Cancer Alliances already lead the planning and delivery of cancer services and their improvement across their local systems.
Department of Health and Social Care
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23 Conclusion Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
To support Cancer Alliances to embed transformation into local cancer services, new Integrated Care Systems...
To support Cancer Alliances to embed transformation into local cancer services, new Integrated Care Systems must be required to appoint cancer leads, with responsibility for working directly with Alliances to embed best practice into their own systems. Cancer performance should … Read more
Government Response
The government states that Cancer Alliances already lead the planning and delivery of cancer services, and the ICS Design Framework has made clear that Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) will look to the Cancer Alliances to continue to undertake these roles from July 2022.
Department of Health and Social Care
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24 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
Cancer Alliances must reflect on new data provided to them by NHS England and the...
Cancer Alliances must reflect on new data provided to them by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care about cancer outcomes by ethnicity in their areas. In particular they should review the care provided to people from … Read more
Government Response
The government states that tackling inequalities is a key focus of the NHS Long-Term Plan and 22/23 Planning Guidance, with actions in place to increase accessibility of surveys, target lung health checks, and target messaging in campaigns to minority audiences.
Department of Health and Social Care
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28 Conclusion Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
The impact of Covid-19 on cancer research was significant and it is concerning that trial...
The impact of Covid-19 on cancer research was significant and it is concerning that trial recruitment has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. However, the pandemic has provided a model for how cancer research can be conducted more efficiently, in more … Read more
Government Response
The government describes the multi-year Vision for the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery, how it will build on the lessons learnt during the pandemic, and sets out the ambition to create a patient-centred, pro-innovation and digitally enabled clinical research environment.
Department of Health and Social Care
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29 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
The Government should set out how it will build on the lessons learnt during the...
The Government should set out how it will build on the lessons learnt during the pandemic by making it easier for researchers to: a) access vital patient data; b) access staff needed for their studies, by providing more protected time … Read more
Government Response
The government outlines actions to improve data access, staff access for studies and streamlining of approval processes, referencing the Vision for the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery, investment in Trusted Research Environments, a single front door for study approvals, and the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway.
Department of Health and Social Care
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30 Recommendation Accepted
Twelfth Report - Cancer services
The Government should also establish a ring-fenced fund for cancer research infrastructure targeted at NHS...
The Government should also establish a ring-fenced fund for cancer research infrastructure targeted at NHS trusts which have historically low levels of research activity. (Paragraph 149) 46 Cancer services
Government Response
The Department provides sustained investment in research expertise, specialist facilities, a research delivery workforce and support services through the NIHR Infrastructure including Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs) and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at the Royal Marsden BRC.
Department of Health and Social Care
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Government Response AI assessment · 30 of 15 classified
Accepted 17
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 8
Deferred 4
Total 15 recs + 15 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
29 Mar 2022 Corresondence from the National Cancer Director on the Cancer services inquiry
Parliament page
25 Jan 2022 To committee Letter from the National Cancer Director and National Clinical Director on Cancer services dated 17.01.22
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19 Oct 2021 To committee Letter from Jeanette Dickson providing further information requested by the Committee on Cancer services dated 28.09.21
Parliament page