Ashley Dalton
MP for West Lancashire · Labour · United Kingdom
“My right hon. Friend is being very generous; I thank him for giving way. It was my sombre privilege to work with him on this matter when I was a Minister in the Department of Health.”
“I recently visited the Liberty Centre in my constituency, a fantastic charitable organisation that supports individuals and families who have been affected by domestic abuse and violence. It told me that it could fill its refuge places three times over, but it does not have the resources.”
“It can be diagnosed after a primary diagnosis—primary breast cancer is potentially curable—or the first time that a person is diagnosed with breast cancer. That is called a de novo diagnosis. That is what secondary breast cancer is and, as we have heard, I have it, along with many, many other people.”
“There is also a myth that the treatment for your primary cancer was somehow wrong or had failed if you get metastatic breast cancer. Again, that is absolute nonsense. Breast cancer can still spread, even after successful treatment for a primary cancer, and even with the best treatments in the world.”
“As ever, it is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I first acknowledge the campaigners from Make 2nds Count, METUP UK and Breast Cancer Now and the fellow MBC patients who are joining us in the Public Gallery.”
“I do not say that to terrify people, but to say that it is absolutely imperative that they are aware of the signs and symptoms of secondary breast cancer in case they ever have them, no matter how long it has been since their primary diagnosis—or indeed, if they have ever had one.”
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“We will do that by modernising the NHS, harnessing the power of science and technology, putting our patients at the front of the queue for the latest medicines, and helping them to live well after diagnosis, not least for people diagnosed with stage 4, metastatic and incurable cancers—people like me. How do we get there? We are placing big bets on genomics, data and artificial intelligence, as set out in our 10-year plan for health. We will hardwire the three shifts of our 10-year plan into cancer pathways. First, on moving from analogue to digital, we heard from patients about the importance of clinical trials, so we will make the UK one of the best places in the world to run a trial with a new cancer trials accelerator.”
“Over the past year, we have listened to and learned from cancer charities, clinicians and, most importantly, patients and their families. Every action is a response to someone’s lived experience. Every commitment is a promise to transform someone else’s life. Their stories have become the blueprint to make the biggest improvement in cancer outcomes in a generation. Three major themes stood out from the 11,000 responses to our call for evidence, some 9,000 of which came from patients and their carers: core performance standards, improved survival, and quality of life after diagnosis. Those are not radical ideas, but unlike previous strategies, this plan is not limited to incremental improvement. Instead, it is an ambitious, bold plan to save 320,000 more lives by 2035, which will be the fastest rate of improvement this century.”
“This all adds up to the chilling fact that someone living in Blackpool is almost twice as likely to die young from cancer than someone living in Harrow. Wherever in our country a person lives, they deserve the same shot at survival and quality of life as everyone else. Wealth should not dictate their health, and neither should their postcode. Behind these statistics are real people. I have heard from those whose care lacked empathy and dignity, from those whose cancer was missed or whose test results were lost, from those who were passed from pillar to post and kept in the dark about their condition, and from those whose loved ones died before their turn came for surgery because the wait was too long. Those experiences are unacceptable—they are devastating. From day one, I was determined to put their voices front and centre of our plan.”
“In 2011, the coalition Government published “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”. That strategy was followed in 2016 by “Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: a strategy for England”. In 2019, the long-term health plan for England made cancer a priority and included a headline ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stages 1 and 2. However well-intentioned they were, not one of those strategies has lived up to its promises. Cancer mortality rates in the UK are much higher than in other, comparable countries, while survival rates are much lower. Cancer incidence is around 15% higher than when the 62 day standard was last met, and working-class communities are being failed most of all. The most deprived areas, including rural and coastal communities, often have fewer cancer consultants, leaving patients waiting longer.”
“With permission, I will make a statement on the Government’s national cancer plan for England. A cancer diagnosis changes you forever. When I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer 18 months ago, I did not know whether I would be alive today, never mind standing at this Dispatch Box announcing a national cancer plan, but one year ago almost to the day, the Prime Minister asked me to do just that. Since the Government took office, over 212,000 more people are getting a cancer diagnosis on time, over 36,000 more are starting treatment on time, and rates of early diagnosis are hitting record highs. Despite those vital signs of recovery, though, the NHS is still failing far too many cancer patients and their families. That is why first and foremost, this plan is a break with the failure of the past 15 years.”
“Member mentioned hospices, something that I know is very close to his heart and his experience. We are delivering the biggest investment in hospices in a generation. We have provided £100 million to upgrade buildings, facilities and digital systems, and we are giving a further £26 million to children’s and young people’s hospices, ensuring that they can continue offering specialist, compassionate support. More broadly, we are developing a palliative care and end of life modern service framework for England. That is currently being developed alongside our stakeholders, with a planned publication date of autumn 2026. I hope that addresses most of the issues raised by the right hon. Member, but I am more than happy to speak with him further after the debate.”
“This is the first ever cancer plan with a chapter on rare cancers, and the first ever cancer plan with a chapter on children and young people, and I am really proud of that. On radiotherapy, as I said, we have invested £70 million into 28 new linear accelerator—LINAC—radiotherapy machines. We have also listened to stakeholders in the radiotherapy community. We are investing in new technology, including those radiotherapy machines, and in AI to assist the oncology workforce to reduce the time it takes to plan and then deliver treatment. By April next year, we will streamline the process to make it easier for radiotherapy centres to use cutting edge stereotactic ablative radiotherapy—SABR—which is crucial to many patients. We will also ensure that the payment system associated with this treatment incentivises rapid adoption. The right hon.”
“Steps are already being taken, but it is really important, as the right hon. Member points out, that we are held to account and that people keep our feet to the fire on delivery. That is why we are setting up a brand new cancer board of charities and clinicians, which will oversee the delivery of this plan and keep our feet to the fire. On workforce, we know how important it is to make sure that the cancer workforce is grown and developed, not only in terms of numbers but in having the resources and the support to use their skills to the utmost. The workforce plan that the Government are developing will also include cancer and will be published this spring. I was delighted to hear the right hon. Member mention rare cancers and children and young people.”
“I thank the right hon. Member for his statement and questions, and particularly for his personal wishes. Overseeing delivery is absolutely crucial. It is great that we have written a plan, but what matters is delivering it. We started delivery even before we had finished writing this plan; we are not waiting. We have already put £200 million directly into cancer via cancer alliances. We have recruited 2,500 more GPs. We have already put in place 28 cutting edge radiotherapy machines and are rolling out lung cancer screening. We have opened more community diagnostic centres at evenings and weekends. We said we would deliver 2 million more appointments; we have already delivered 5 million more appointments. And we have put £25 million into the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s brain tumour research consortium.”
“Friend the Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) raises around blood products and donations, and is working with the Anthony Nolan trust on those. I will be more than happy to work with my hon. Friend further on those issues.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his question, for his expertise and for all that he has shared from his experience to help us develop this plan. I note how important specialist nurses are, but we are also doing more to help people navigate the NHS. I know exactly what it is like; I think I have in my Filofax—I am that retro!—about 38 email addresses and phone numbers of the various people I have to contact in order to project manage my treatment. We are going further and ensuring that the NHS app can handle all that information. Cancer patients will have the ability in their hands, or in their pockets, to manage scans, appointments and test results directly through the NHS app. I am delighted to say that my hon. Friend the Minister for Technology, Innovation and Life Sciences is already looking at the issues that my hon.”
“That will free up capacity for the one-to-one, face-to-face support that many people need, but every cancer patient will get support under this plan, whether that is through the app or through their named lead clinical specialist in their neighbourhood, who will support them throughout the process, including after treatment. We are working with NHS England to identify the appropriate number of people for the cancer workforce, and we will be able to announce more about that as the workforce plan develops.”
“We listen to a lot of people on the need for a cancer plan. I want to take this opportunity to say that our friend Nathaniel Dye, who sadly died last week from stage 4 bowel cancer, challenged my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to bring forward a cancer plan when we were in opposition. The Secretary of State made that commitment, and we have brought forward the plan 18 months after coming into government. The hon. Lady mentions the NHS app, which we understand is not necessarily relevant for people who are digitally excluded. One reason we are bringing that forward is to open up capacity within the rest of the system, so that those who can use digital tools can do so.”
“I commend my hon. Friend for the work that he is doing in this area while going through treatment for skin cancer. Action 30 is really important, and we are also committing in this plan to tackling under-age sunbed use. We are committing to look at what more we can do to combat dangerous sunbed use, and to promote prevention when it comes to skincare in the sun. We will explore what more we can do about that, and I look forward to working with my hon. Friend to do so.”
“That will get thousands more men effective treatment earlier, which can significantly improve their chances of long-term survival. Through this plan, we intend to prevent and catch cancer early. Included in the plan is raising awareness of cancer across all communities to ensure that people access the screening and early tests that they are entitled to.”
“I agree with the right hon. Member that prevention is absolutely key. We cannot prevent all cancers, but we can do much to prevent cancers from being caught late and to get to them when they are more treatable. We encourage all eligible people to access the tests and screening that are available to them. Through the new NHS app, each individual will be able to get a personalised risk factor to identify what they may be at risk of, and to nudge them towards which tests and screenings they should ask their GP for. That is something that we are looking to develop for all cancers, including prostate cancer. We are also expanding access to the life-extending prostate cancer drug abiraterone—I had to practise saying that; I can say mine, which is capecitabine.”
“I want to be able to live my life.” We were able to work together to find the right treatment that fits in with my lifestyle, and which allows me to come to work and do this job. That is what we want for every single cancer patient in this country. Their treatment should be about not just keeping them alive, but extending and maintaining their quality of life.”
“I commend my hon. Friend for the campaigning that he has done in his brother’s name in the area of rare and less survivable cancers, including brain tumours. We are putting patients at the centre of this plan, which says not only that every patient will have a personalised cancer treatment plan, but that patients will be at the heart of deciding those plans. Alongside their clinicians, they will have a role to play in deciding what treatment works for them. I know personally what that means. When I got my diagnosis, the immediate suggestion was that I would have intravenous chemotherapy. I was able to engage with my oncologist and say, “I’m not sure that that works for my lifestyle.”
“We are going to cut waiting times by giving trusts and cancer alliances detailed practical information and granular data on individual cancer types so that we can highlight real-time pathway insights through a federated data platform, and by streamlining the cancer metrics so that we can shine a light on unwarranted variation in care. We are providing information and best practice, thereby taking the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS. We are linking up professionals and clinicians across the UK, so that they can share their best practice. Trusts can help and support each other to reach the targets.”
“The trust to which the right hon. Gentleman refers is the trust where I had my primary cancer treatment, so I am acutely aware of the challenges. We have set a really clear and simple ambition: to get cancer patients the timely care they need, and to meet all waiting time standards by the end of this Parliament. That means that by March 2029, 80% of patients will get a diagnosis or the all-clear within 28 days, and 85% of patients will start their treatment within 62 days of referral. Some people have asked me why the figure is not 100%. It is not possible to make it 100%, because not everybody’s cancer is simple or easy to identify, and sometimes it takes longer. We want to ensure that the only reason for delays beyond 62 days is the complexity or specifics of someone’s cancer, not the inability of a trust to meet the targets.”
“Yes, I do agree, and we are working on that. We are establishing the cancer trials accelerator programme to increase the speed, scale and reliability of cancer trials, and we will use the new health tech access programme to make it quicker. We will also be supporting the development, through the workforce plan, of all the clinicians required, including academics.”
“I offer the hon. Member my deepest condolences on the news that she has shared with the House. I share her concern that we have to reach others. Some less survivable cancers can be tackled if they are caught early, and we have specifically committed in the plan to reducing significantly the number of rare and less survivable cancers that are diagnosed in an emergency setting, which she described as happening to her family. Primary care is where most people first raise concerns. GPs rarely see rare cancers, because they are rare, so we are rolling out AI-driven decision support tools to help GPs think cancer sooner, think cancer earlier and make decisions about referral more quickly.”
“We are also giving local authorities more flexibility in how they use their public health grant and, for the first time in many years, multi-year settlements so that they can plan.”
“Prevention is a key part of this plan. As I have mentioned, we are doing an awful lot on that—for instance, on illegal under-age sunbed use. We are also eliminating cervical cancer through HPV vaccination and tackling obesity. Fundamentally, we are creating the world’s first smoke-free generation with our groundbreaking Tobacco and Vapes Bill. We do not ignore the communities hit the hardest, and the cancer alliances are promoting new schemes to enable young people to catch up on vaccinations, such as HPV, that they may have missed. We are tackling harmful alcohol consumption by introducing new mandatory health warnings and nutritional information on alcohol labels. We have reformed the public health grant in recent years—we have wrapped it up—and many places have seen an overall increase.”
“Through the spending review, providers have been allocated £15 billion in operational capital for local priorities and £5 billion to support the return to constitutional standards on radiotherapy. Responsibility for purchasing new machines sits at local level, and we expect local systems to continue to invest in new machines to meet the ambitious targets and to meet their local needs.”
“Yes, I do agree. This plan is about ensuring that wraparound care is there from the very beginning, and I would be more than delighted, if my diary allows, to visit the service that my hon. Friend mentions.”
“We are also considering the findings from the £11 million EDITH—early detection using information technology in health—trial, testing how cutting-edge tools can be used to catch breast cancer cases earlier, particularly in younger women, like me, for whom a mammogram was not successful because of dense breast tissue.”
“Ministers quite like making promises from the Dispatch Box on behalf of our Front-Bench colleagues, but in this case I think I will just gently encourage my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to join the hon. Member, if he is able to do so—I look forward to seeing the photographs. We are exploring opportunities for breast cancer screening. There are difficulties in early screening because of dense breast tissue, but we are expanding screening where it provides support. In particular on breast screening, we are monitoring the emerging evidence from BRAID—breast screening risk adaptive imaging for density—trials, which target programmes at women with greater risk.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting such amazing work happening in her constituency. From the very beginning, we have said that this Government’s approach is to take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS. Using the NHS app and the new national co-ordination of activities, we hope to share some of that best practice a lot more widely.”
“Harnessing technology right across the cancer landscape is what this plan is about. Where it is appropriate for less invasive treatments to be used, we are looking to explore how we can roll them out across the country, regardless of postcodes. Lots more people are surviving cancer with treatment, but what is important is that the side effects of invasive cancer treatment can be significant—I know: I have several of them—so, where possible, we want to use innovative, less invasive treatments so that people can live longer, more fruitful and less painful lives.”
“More widely—this relates to what we announced in the summer for the 10-year health plan—single patient records will also allow patients to access services more easily, particularly across different ICBs.”
“The cancer plan sets out policies that have been developed specifically to tackle geographic inequalities in cancer care, with increased medical training places in rural and coastal areas, improved data transparency on the quality of care and performance of trusts, and investment in cancer alliances that proactively support local communities, while treatment support from neighbourhood care leads will help people to navigate their cancer pathways. Cancer outcomes should not be dependent on someone’s location in the country, so we are working to bring postcode lotteries to an end. We are using the NHS app so that patients can manage their cancer treatment themselves.”
“I understand that the right hon. Lady has already met the Minister for health innovation, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed), to discuss these issues, and that he will continue to work with her on them and to explore them further.”
“Yes, I can confirm that we will continue to work with cancer charities. I am particularly delighted with the work we have done with Young Lives vs Cancer and other young people’s cancer charities, which have brought amazing insight and basically written the chapter on children and young people with cancer with the team. I would be delighted to continue that work.”
“As I have already stated, the workforce is key. The workforce plan will be published in spring this year. As of November 2025, there are now 70% more staff in the key cancer professions of clinical oncology, gastroenterology, medical oncology, histopathology, clinical radiology, and diagnostic and therapeutic radiology than in 2010—we are starting to make inroads, although we know there is further to go. We will be driving that forward through this plan and the workforce plan, due in the spring.”
“I commend the campaigning work of my hon. Friend’s constituents and say to them that their voices run through this plan; they have written this plan with their campaigning activity as much as we have. The James Cook university hospital in my hon. Friend’s constituency has had funding for two new LINAC machines—medical linear accelerators—which is helping to ensure that people get access to treatment. The plan will ensure that postcode and geography will not get in the way of the treatment people receive, and I look forward to working further with my hon. Friend and his constituents on how we can make that a reality.”
“We recognise that the provision of cancer services varies significantly across the country. This plan sets out how we will end that variation by bringing healthcare to the community and ensuring that everyone, no matter their postcode, has access to high-quality cancer care. I want to assure everybody that cancer outcomes should not be dependent on someone’s location in the country and that we will make timely access to high-quality diagnostic and treatment services a reality for anyone and everyone who needs it.”
“Yes, we are aware of that. We are looking at the existing metrics and at what we can do to improve them to ensure that they are actually making a difference to people’s outcomes.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his question and offer my condolences on the loss of his Auntie Hillary. Yes, this plan is designed to ensure that an extra 320,000 people at the end of the course of the plan will have had their lives saved or be living well with cancer after their five-year diagnosis. We want to make sure that everybody gets that opportunity, regardless of where they live.”
“Yes, I can confirm that, but it is not always about throwing extra money at things. It is about using the resources that we have in a better, more targeted way to be more impactful. I have worked with Cancer Research UK from day one of developing this plan and it has run right the way through it. We continue to work with the organisation as we move forward to make the plan a reality.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Lung cancer has impacted on my family as well. Yes, we will be rolling out lung cancer screening nationwide by 2030, because we know that it has a huge impact on outcomes. I have seen how amazing the AI tools are at identifying discrepancies in lung CT scans. I found out that I had an untapped talent, as I was quite good at identifying those discrepancies as well. AI means that we can catch lung cancers sooner. They are often not caught until they are at stage 3 or 4. Using AI means that we can get them at stage 1 or 2, we can treat people early and we can save lives.”
“As I have set out, we have already invested £70 million in the new LINAC machines, and we are using AI to support oncologists to use those machines more effectively. Through the spending review, we are providing £15 billion in operational capital for local priorities. It is down to local ICBs and local trusts to identify what they need and what they want to purchase in their areas, but we are providing the support and guidance to help them do that.”
“This is a key issue. Some cancers are an awful lot easier to get at, and so they are a lot easier to diagnose sooner. We are looking at how we can roll out screening wherever appropriate and increase access to tests such as liquid biopsies, which I talked about in the statement, so that people can get their diagnoses sooner.”
“I can assure the hon. Member that we are working with our Welsh counterparts to make sure that there is equity of access to resources and to information, and we will continue to do so.”
“That is absolutely the case. This plan will support people in my hon. Friend’s constituency by expanding access to community diagnostic centres and personalised neighbourhood-based cancer care. We are also focusing on recruiting more cancer specialists for rural and coastal areas, and are supporting that through the workforce plan.”
“We are learning from comparable countries. By looking at what they have achieved, we have begun to put together this plan. We want to make Britain the place to come to for clinical trials of new innovative treatments. We are looking not only to learn from other countries about the treatments they already offer, but to have our own home-grown new treatments and innovations through our clinical trials accelerator in the UK.”
“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. It was my pleasure to meet Lorraine. I will, if I can, say very quickly that when we met her, she was explaining to officials how she did not have what she needed for her daughter when they were sent to the specialist care unit straight from A&E. One official said, “Why couldn’t you go and get what you needed?” We all looked at him and said that nobody was going to leave that child. That is why this cancer plan recognises the importance of wraparound care for children and young people, so that parents can support their families best.”
“As my hon. Friend knows—I do not need to tell him this—brain tumours, leukaemia and other less stageable cancers cannot be assessed in the usual way, so we need different measures to understand how early they are being caught. That is why this plan commits to the regular publication of data on emergency cancer diagnoses as a key indicator, exposing where these cancers are picked up too late so that we can drive earlier detection and focus attention where it is most urgently needed.”
“Organisations such as Maggie’s play a crucial role. That is why we chose to launch our national cancer plan at a Maggie’s centre yesterday. We cannot do this alone. Charities, support organisations, family groups, and the tiny little charities run from a back bedroom by the family of somebody who suffered a very rare cancer, all have a role to play in how we bring forward the cancer plan. I am most proud of the fact that this is not the Government’s cancer plan but the country’s cancer plan. Every voluntary-sector community organisation and charity has a role to play, and I look forward to working further with them all.”
“We have extended NHS bowel cancer screening to cover people from the age of 50, and between now and 2028 we will be increasing the sensitivity of the faecal immunochemical test—otherwise known as the FIT test—and rolling it out nationally by 2028. Combined with increased uptake, that will deliver 17,000 earlier diagnoses by 2035 and save almost 6,000 lives.”