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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“I commend my hon. Friend on all the work he has done, particularly on the Rare Cancers Bill, which the Government are delighted to support. Not only does this plan have the first ever chapter on rare and less-survivable cancers, but we will be appointing the first ever clinical lead for rare cancers, whose job it will be to make sure that rare cancers are properly counted, registered and that we continue to deliver in this area. I would be delighted to visit the House of Hope next time I am in Edinburgh.”
“I also put on record my condolences to the family and friends of Colin Pickthall, the former Member for West Lancashire. As the current Member for that seat, it is my privilege to build on his legacy. We are committed to furthering investment to unlock new treatments and improve outcomes for brain cancer patients, including by investing in cutting-edge equipment to improve access to samples for research. Individual pathology services in England maintain their own standard operating procedures, and they outline local capabilities and practices, but we are continuing to invest in England’s pathology networks to deliver productivity and transformation improvements.”
“We are determined to ensure that everyone who receives a brain tumour diagnosis, regardless of where they live, has access to the latest treatment options. I look forward to meeting Owain’s wife, Ellie, later this month to hear more about their story and the next steps on this topic.”
“As previously stated, we are boosting investment to unlock new treatments and improve outcomes for brain cancer patients, including investing in cutting-edge equipment to improve access to samples for research. Each pathology service in England maintains its own standard procedures for tissue freezing, which inform local capabilities and practices, and we are investing in England’s pathology networks to deliver productivity and transformation improvements.”
“As my hon. Friend rightly points out, I was privileged to answer for the Government in the Westminster Hall debate last week on this very issue, and I vividly remember Trevor’s story. Last week, I did commit to exploring current arrangements for tissue freezing options and the options for change, and I recommit to doing that today. I would be more than happy to meet him and his constituent to discuss this further.”
“We know that many people with suspected ADHD—attention deficit hyperactivity disorder—experience severe delays in accessing assessments. That is not right. We want people with ADHD to receive the right support in their communities. Our medium-term planning framework sets out expectations for local areas to improve access to ADHD services. The independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism will work with people with lived experience to identify challenges and solutions. The final report is due to be published in summer and will build on the independent ADHD taskforce report, which we welcome.”
“Through the medium-term planning framework, which we published in October 2025, we set out those expectations. We will continue to work with trusts to develop them to make sure that people with ADHD, or suspected ADHD, get the support they need. I am more than happy to meet the APPG to discuss these matters further.”
“As it is the ICB shared by my constituency, I am equally concerned. This will be explored as part of the review and I am more than happy to ask the Minister responsible to contact the hon. Gentleman further on how we can take that forward.”
“Local authorities must assess disabled children’s social care needs and provide respite care, including funding short breaks where appropriate. We are currently developing an all-age palliative care and end-of-life care modern service framework, and will consider the issue of emotional and practical support, including for parents who are carers, as part of that work. My hon. Friend the Minister for Care chairs a cross-Government meeting with Ministers from the Departments for Work and Pensions, for Business and Trade and for Education, to consider how we can provide care as we improve recognition and support. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend and the founder of Harry’s Pals.”
“Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), I am happy to liaise with the devolved Governments on this issue, and I commit today to further exploring the current arrangements for freezing tissues and the options for change, particularly for brain tumour tissues. Beyond improving access to emerging treatments through freezing, we know that the most effective way to improve survival rates from cancers, including brain cancers, is to catch them early. That is why we have agreed around £600 million of capital investment in diagnostics for this financial year. Over £100 million will go to histopathology services, automation and digital diagnostics to improve pathology laboratories.”
“Owain’s law also asks for every NHS hospital to freeze suitable brain tumour tissue to allow patients to benefit from emerging cancer treatments. Individual pathology services in England have their own processes, known as standard operating procedures, for fresh freezing of tissue samples. NHS procedures mirror local capabilities, which means the capacity for fresh freezing often depends on the availability of neurosurgery services in the local area. The human tissue regulations were introduced due to concerns that pathologists were retaining human tissues without appropriate consent. Any changes will need to be carefully considered by the Government. However, as was requested by my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly and the hon.”
“The Human Tissue Authority ensures compliance against those regulations as part of its standards, inspection and licensing regime. Consent should be sought in line with the suitable treatment options available to individual patients, which would be determined by their clinicians. That requirement extends to the collection of tumour samples that are to be used as the starting material in the manufacture of cancer vaccines. The Government expect establishments to be held to the highest standards to ensure appropriate and ethical use of human tissue. I understand that my hon. Friend is meeting with the Human Tissue Authority to discuss this matter further, and I know that he will keep me closely in the loop on that.”
“On informed consent and tissue storage, as a cancer patient myself, I find it very troubling when patients say they have not been informed about their tissue storage, as campaigners have reported. I completely understand why the Owain’s law petition calls for people to be properly informed about the choices available to them. Let me be clear: patients must always be fully informed about their rights, options and choices regarding the storage and future use of their tissue samples. The Human Tissue Authority was established in 2004 to oversee and licence organisations in the removal, storage and use of human tissue in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Under the Human Tissue (Quality and Safety for Human Application) Regulations 2007, consent must be sought to collect human tissues and cells that are to be used in patient treatment.”
“These debates and the petition show how much progress on cancer matters to Parliament and the public. My hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) said that debates on brain cancer are a bit like buses: there are none for ages, then suddenly three at once. I want to acknowledge that her work has led to the higher profile for such debates in Parliament, more of which are taking place. I thank and commend her for her efforts in this field. My hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly raised incredibly serious issues about how informed consent, tissue freezing and innovation are impacting patients. I will take those points in turn. I will primarily address the context in England, although I acknowledge that areas of this policy apply across the UK.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Chris Evans) and all other hon. Members for their contributions, many of which were deeply personal and moving. I thank them all for their courage and soft-heartedness, and for bringing such compassion and insight to this debate. Let me say how sorry I was to hear about the loss of Owain at the age of just 34. His story reminds us that many people lose their lives to brain cancer very shortly after diagnosis, and we are determined to do all we can to change that. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Ellie, who is here today, and his daughter Amelia. I would be honoured to meet Ellie and my hon. Friend to hear more about her and Owain’s story. Just yesterday, I was here for a debate on less survivable cancers.”
“The plan will detail further action to speed up diagnosis and treatment in England, ensuring that patients have access to the latest treatments and technology and ultimately driving up survival rates.”
“The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children who are living with brain tumours and for their families, ultimately reducing the number of lives lost to cancer. As I confirmed yesterday, I will write to my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden in detail regarding access to funding. I am happy to commit to seeking information and exploring how we can make access to funding much clearer and more transparent. I am pleased to confirm that the national cancer plan for England will be published in just a few short weeks, in early February. It will focus on rarer cancers, including brain cancer, and will include further details on how we will improve outcomes and work with stakeholders such as the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission to do so.”
“Friend the Member for Caerphilly and Ellie are entirely right to raise the importance of innovation, particularly for less survivable cancers such as brain cancer. The Government are proud to support the Rare Cancers Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur). Next Friday, Baroness Elliott will move its Second Reading in the other place. We will go even further to ensure that all patients with brain cancer have access to cutting edge clinical trials, innovation and lifesaving treatments. As part of our action, the National Institute for Health and Care Research announced the pioneering brain tumour research consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments across the UK. The NIHR is backing the consortium with an initial £13.7 million and more money to come this year.”
“I note my hon. Friend’s clarification, but with that in mind, we do know that it is important to diagnose all cancers as quickly as possible, and the diagnosis of brain cancers is equally important so as to start treatment as quickly as possible. To that end, the Chancellor announced further investment in diagnostics at the autumn statement as part of a £6 billion capital investment to deliver constitutional standards. On genomics, I met the chief scientific officer for genomics yesterday to discuss how we ensure that the UK remains a world leader in genomics—which we are—and that we can apply genomics to improve cancer outcomes. We hope that our investment in diagnostics and pathology will mean that, in future, patients such as Owain will access a greater range of treatment options. My hon.”
“I am happy to confirm that I will ask officials to look into that, and to give me some advice on that pilot and on having a conversation with those running it about what we could learn from them. I thank the hon. Member for raising that question. I will close by paying tribute to our late colleague and Member of the Senedd, Hefin David. Through tireless campaigning, he brought Owain’s story to the Senedd. My hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly has now brought it to this place and I thank him for that. I look forward to working with him and other hon. Members to make 2026 the year that we shift the dial for patients with brain cancer.”
“Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West and all other Members to make sure that we keep our momentum into the new year and bring about real change.”
“The framework will align with the ambitions of the 10-year health plan, which prioritises shifting care out of hospitals and into community settings to ensure personalised, compassionate support for individuals of all ages and their families. The Government were elected on a manifesto to tackle the biggest killers, including cancer. I am proud to stand here today, after 18 months, and say that we can see some green shoots of recovery across the health service, with 135,000 more cancer diagnoses within the 28-day target. That is partly driven by over 100 community diagnostic centres opening at evenings and on weekends, and new surgical hubs to treat people faster. With the publication of our national cancer plan, 2026 could be a decisive year for cancer care. I look forward to working with the hon. Member for Wokingham, the APPG, my hon.”
“People watching at home might be thinking, “Well, what happens with all this research?” So let me briefly give a real-world example of implementation: the Cytosponge is a simple test that can identify conditions that are a precursor to oesophageal cancer. The NIHR, alongside Cancer Research UK, funded research into the development of this “sponge on a string”. This year will see a new NHS pilot of its use in high street pharmacies, supporting the shift in the delivery of care from hospitals to community as part of our 10-year health plan. The Government are developing a palliative care and end-of-life care modern service framework, with publication planned for spring this year.”
“Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh), I understand that the NIHR chief executive officer, Professor Lucy Chappell, has recently written to her, and I will follow up in writing to respond to my hon. Friend’s question and to explain the process of submitting a bid to the NIHR in detail. In 2024, the NIHR and the Office for Life Sciences announced nearly £11 million to support the further testing of innovations to help to increase the early detection and diagnosis of cancer. That includes funding for research into the new breath test for multiple gastrointestinal cancers and to look at how we can roll it out in primary care.”
“We are committed to ensuring that GPs have the right training and systems to identify cancer symptoms, and we will continue to support the use of clinical decision support tools. On research and innovation, the Department of Health and Social Care invests over £1.6 billion a year in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. At over £141 million in the last financial year, cancer research is a major area of NIHR spending. Just last month, the NIHR launched a pioneering new £13.7 million brain tumour research consortium to accelerate research into new treatments. On the question from my hon.”
“We made genomics one of the five big bets in our 10-year plan for health, setting out how we will harness it to create a genomics population health service and support innovation. In July last year, we launched the groundbreaking national inherited cancer predisposition register, so that we can keep track of people with genes that put them at risk. That brings me to a wider point about diagnostics and primary care. We have introduced Jess’s rule, named after Jess Brady, to prompt GPs to investigate further when a patient presents with the same symptoms or concerns more than twice. We have also boosted community diagnostic centres and invested an extra £889 million in general practice.”
“My officials, including those leading on the national cancer plan, are carefully considering every one of the APPG’s recommendations. Although I cannot go into detail today, I assure Members that rare and less survivable cancers will feature heavily in the new cancer plan. The Government are asking the NHS, charities and all my colleagues in this place to join in a new national effort, spearheaded by the national cancer plan, which we will publish in just a few short weeks, in early February. I can confirm that there is no truth in the rumour that it is being delayed to March. The plan will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care. We want patients to have access to the latest treatments and technology, and to receive the highest quality of care.”
“The Government are proud to support the Rare Cancers Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur). Baroness Elliott will move its Second Reading in the other place on Friday next week. As a cancer patient myself, I was proud to stand on a manifesto to tackle the biggest killers. My right hon. and learned Friend the Prime Minister reaffirmed that pledge just over a year ago, through our plan for change. Although the all cancer survival rate is the best it has ever been, less survivable cancers have just a 16% five-year survival rate, accounting for 67,000 deaths a year. And demand is rising: each day there are around 13,000 urgent referrals for suspected cancer. That is up almost 3,000 a day since 2019.”
“Such a wide range of issues has been raised; I will endeavour to respond to all questions, but given the time pressure, I will follow up in writing to any Members whose questions I do not cover. I will address each of the issues raised by the hon. Member for Wokingham in order. He is right that progress has been uneven across different types of cancer, and that less survivable cancers can be difficult to identify as the symptoms may mirror those of a host of other illnesses. To boost the diagnosis of cancers that are harder to catch at an earlier stage, we have rolled out the non-specific symptom pathways, with 115 NSS services now live. NSS pathways provide a referral route for patients whose symptoms do not fit under a specific cancer pathway. They are making diagnosis smoother and faster for patients whose symptoms are not as clear.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank you and other Members for persevering despite my slightly tardy arrival, which was due, ironically, to the somewhat unpredictable effects of cancer chemotherapy. I am well, however, and have enjoyed the debate immensely. Before I begin, I pay tribute to all our NHS staff, our care workers and everyone serving our hospices for their work over the Christmas and new-year period. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones) for securing this debate, and for doing his bit to keep up morale at the Royal Berkshire hospital on Christmas eve. I thank all Members for their contributions, and acknowledge all their personal stories and the stories they shared of their constituents.”
“The NHS is also undertaking evidence-based initiatives such as the iSupport programme, which focuses on ensuring children’s rights and wellbeing. The iSupport checklist aims to help professionals deliver safe, compassionate and child-centred care. The programme is already being picked up by children’s wards across the country. I look forward to meeting Starlight. We have been trying to get this meeting in the diary for some time, and I am delighted that we have managed to do that. I look forward to working with Starlight to see where we can go further to help kids like Hari avoid childhood trauma.”
“We published the NHS England and Starlight Play Well toolkit in June last year, and I am delighted to see representatives of Starlight in the Public Gallery today. That included the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England. NHS England is making sure that every manager of health play services knows about the Play Well toolkit across a wide range of settings. We are promoting it in community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices and acute paediatric wards. A range of communication channels have been used to raise awareness, including engagement with services via professional bodies, messaging via the chief nursing officer, and ongoing promotion through operational delivery networks directly to trusts and with professional groups.”
“Play and medicine are not in competition, and it is disappointing that Sarah had to fight so hard for play to remain an essential part of Hari’s care. I am pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead got a constructive response from Whipps Cross, but he is right to say that coverage of play services varies across the country. Investing in our children is not just a moral mission; it is a downpayment on a better future. Children do not stop being children when they enter a hospital or a GP clinic. It is important to treat children like children when they are at home, at school or in hospital. There is growing evidence that therapeutic play can mitigate risks of trauma. We recognise that play services are integral to paediatric care, not a nice-to-have.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) for securing this debate on such an important topic. I am grateful to him for sharing Hari’s story, and to Hari and Sarah for making the trip to Parliament. I have always believed in bringing patient voices to the heart of what we do in Parliament, and I hope they both leave safe in the knowledge that this Government are listening. I strongly agree with what hon. Friends have said about the relationship between play and medicine. I volunteered in a healthcare setting as a play worker many moons ago, but more than 30 years later, the important impact of that work has stayed with me.”
“The make-up of the teams is locally determined by integrated care boards, but play specialists could absolutely be involved as part of a neighbourhood team.”
“We have announced improvements to the soft drink industry levy, and we have invested £11 million in local authorities to deploy supervised toothbrushing for three to five-year-olds in schools and nurseries in the most deprived areas of England. On neighbourhood health, my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead raised an important point about multidisciplinary teams for children and young people, which should take an holistic approach to looking after children. The aim is to embed general paediatricians in primary care to give specialist paediatric advice and reduce the need for out-patient paediatric referrals. Those discussions ideally bring together wider health, social care and educational specialists.”
“That is why it is shameful that child poverty has increased by 700,000 since 2010. With more than 4 million children now living in poverty in the UK and 800,000 children using food banks to eat, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor took the necessary decision to fund the biggest reduction in child poverty of any Budget this century. We are expanding free school meals to half a million kids whose parents are on low incomes, and lifting hundreds of thousands out of poverty by removing the two-child benefit cap. In addition, there is a £126 million funding boost for the family hubs and Start for Life programme this financial year. Best Start family hubs will be rolled out to every local authority from April. We have kept our manifesto promise to restrict junk food advertising targeted at children.”
“Friend the Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth), is absolutely committed to making sure that we have the right skills to care for patients, including children, when they need it. We are working through the changes and what they will mean for different professional groups. I know that mental health will be at the top of the agenda, not least for children. Health play therapists are trained through foundation degrees. The toolkit that has been developed sets out clearly how services should support practical training of specialists. Games and active play build social and emotional skills and support children’s wellbeing. We want every child to feel safe from harm and for their families to feel supported. We know that the poorest children are more likely to develop long-term illnesses.”
“As I stated earlier, we are promoting the Play Well toolkit right across the country through a variety of communication methods. We look forward to a variety of healthcare settings using that toolkit to deliver in their local areas. That moves me on to mental health. Under this Government, all children will have access to a mental health support team in their school or college by the end of this Parliament. We are also committed to opening 50 Young Futures hubs over the next four years, which will bring together services to help young people at a community level. There have been calls for us to go further on the children’s health workforce. The Minister for Secondary Care, my hon.”
“I stand ready to work with NHS England, my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead and Starlight to make this a decisive year for children’s health. Question put and agreed to.”
“For the first time, in the recently published guidance, we require NHS providers to consider children in the roll-out of all services. The Government are cutting waiting lists, giving children a healthier start in life and lifting half a million children out of poverty. This year—2026—will be critical, as we roll out the Best Start in Life hubs to every local authority in April, while rolling out neighbourhood health hubs and implementing the 10-year plan. The Government fundamentally believe in the importance of play. I am sure all my right hon. and hon. Friends would agree that we could do with a little bit more play in our lives, including in this place. As my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) pointed out, all play is therapeutic, and we would all benefit from a little more play.”
“As my hon. Friend will have noticed, I referred to the workforce plan. My hon. Friend the Minister for Secondary Care will consider all areas of the workforce and what should be included. Play specialists could be involved; their use is most appropriate in teams that give face-to-face patient care, for example when a GP and a paediatrician hold a joint clinic in a GP practice. The majority of case discussions are held virtually, without the patient or family in attendance. There is probably less need for play specialists to support children in those circumstances, but we do encourage the use of the Play Well kit, to ensure that children’s needs are taken into consideration throughout the healthcare process.”
“I thank my good friend, my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince), for bringing forward this debate and sharing the stories of Clarissa and Jude. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions, and I acknowledge the losses to which they have attested. I must say that visiting the Harlow constituency was one of the highlights of my year, and it was a pleasure to open the new high-security containment labs with my hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. These labs are a critical part of our health and national security, and they bring jobs and growth to Harlow. I hope his constituents know how much their MP is battling for them in this place every day, and how his work is already paying dividends. I pay tribute to him for that.”
“It is important to remember the care and support that loved ones receive when they lose a loved one to sudden cardiac arrest, or when they find out that a family member has an inherited heart condition. NHS England’s service specification sets out how that care should be provided by specialist teams in a way that is tailored to meet the needs of families.”
“We will look carefully at the findings of the consultation and I know that the CRY campaign will make its voice heard. Several Members discussed defibrillators, and their training and use. NHS England runs training sessions on first aid, CPR and the use of defibrillators both in the community and in schools under the Restart a Heart programme. NHS England has trained over 35,800 adults and children in CPR and defibrillator use in the past 13 years, and 2,134 so far this year. NHS England delivers the sessions via its resuscitation team and via its community first responders, and also runs lifesaving skills workshops for harder to reach communities and ethnically diverse groups. It has trained 407 people in lifesaving skills in that group so far this year.”
“Our National Screening Committee gives advice based on a range of factors and while balancing the pros and cons of screening population level groups, the committee has previously given evidence that introducing mass screening for sudden cardiac death could cause harm by misdiagnosing some people. For example, receiving a false diagnosis could lead to people being prescribed medication they do not need; people undergoing medical procedures they do not need, such as having an implantable defibrillator fitted; and people living in fear of sudden cardiac death when they are not genuinely at risk. However, the committee is currently reviewing the evidence for sudden cardiac death screening and will open a public consultation in early 2026.”
“Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack) for further highlighting the work of CRY. Any MP who campaigns on prevention is pushing at an open door with this Government. We are shifting the focus of our NHS from sickness to prevention. As my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow rightly points out, it is a tragedy when young lives are lost to preventable illness. He and others make a powerful case for a national screening programme, so let me address that point head-on. I fully support a national screening programme, as long as the experts agree that it would do more good than harm.”
“The hon. Member will know that all vaccines are assessed and are not issued unless they are considered safe. We collect data on conditions and potential impacts right across the medical estate. I have not seen any data that would suggest there is a link to any particular vaccine, but if there is, the data would show us that and it would be considered. My hon. Friend the Member for Harlow and I stood on a manifesto to tackle the biggest killers, including cardiovascular disease, to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions in England, and to reverse the legacy left to us by the previous Government. Through his work with the CRY campaign and everything he said in the Chamber this evening, it is evident that he is staying true to those promises. I also thank my hon.”
“Our 10-year plan is building on the founding principle of the NHS so that it provides healthcare free at the point of risk, not just at the point of need, and now we are shifting the focus of our NHS from sickness to prevention. Wherever we can go further on prevention, we will. I have heard the case made by my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow this evening. He is a powerful advocate for those who have lost loved ones to sudden cardiac death, and we are listening to him and others who are pushing us to go further. I shall update him and, of course, the House next year, following the review of evidence and the public consultation. Question put and agreed to.”
“Instead of mass screening, increasingly patients will be offered personalised health checks and targeted medicines far earlier, and adverse drug reactions will be avoided. That will help to transform the NHS from a reactive healthcare system into a proactive one. This ambition will be funded by a £650 million boost to genomics as part of the Government’s life sciences sector plan. We are just scratching the surface of what genomics, gene editing and life sciences can do. Under this Government, NHS waiting lists are falling, ambulances are arriving faster, and we are lifting hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty.”