Clive Jones
MP for Wokingham · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“Sir David was renowned for his tireless campaigning on issues ranging from animal welfare to tackling fuel poverty. He was also a passionate advocate for children with learning disabilities. He championed women with endometriosis by launching an all-party parliamentary group.”
“Social media has also transformed political debate; while it has created opportunities for engagement, it has also enabled anonymous abuse, threats against public representatives, and the rapid spread of misinformation. Such behaviour fuels hostility and weakens trust in our democratic institutions.”
“554.] The then Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer), echoed those sentiments, urging us to “use the memory of Sir David’s life…to recommit ourselves in standing for the things that he stood for…for decency in our disagreements, for kindness in our hearts, for our great democ…”
“Sir David’s killer targeted him because of his parliamentary record. This tragedy reminds us that extremism can take many forms, but its goal is always the same: to intimate, divide and undermine our democracy.”
“I want to raise a concern on behalf of my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran). I understand that a number of MPs were not invited to a call this morning outlining the impact of local government reorganisation. I hope that the Leader of the House agrees that that was unacceptable.”
“Nearly a thousand families of children with special educational needs and disabilities are supported by Camp Mohawk and its fantastic daycare centre in my constituency.”
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“These incidents are only recorded when the care of at least five patients is affected, so that is a minimum of 26,000 people who have had vital care delayed or cancelled simply because the hospital was not in an acceptable condition. Once we consider the incidents affecting fewer than five patients, the actual number may well be much higher. We must also not forget those hospitals that are not part of the new hospital building programme. Yesterday, my staff spoke to an NHS consultant working in accident and emergency at such a hospital, who has asked not to be named. The consultant described an incident this very week where family members had to be moved out of the resuscitation relatives’ room at the hospital because raw sewage was flowing through the room.”
“The building—parts of it almost 200 years old—is quite literally sinking. Cancer patients receive chemotherapy in a children’s ward from 1910. Wards and offices are inadequately ventilated. Parts of the hospital are poorly accessible, and 50 operations were cancelled in 18 months, not due to staff unavailability or incompetence or for medical reasons, but because the building was simply inadequate on the day. Labour’s response has been to make that hospital struggle on for at least another seven years, on top of the Conservatives’ already lengthy delay, at huge cost to both the taxpayer and patient dignity. It is not a problem confined to the Royal Berkshire hospital. Between 2019 and April 2025, there were at least 5,000 cancellation incidents caused by crumbling infrastructure at our hospitals.”
“Labour is not addressing this crisis with the urgency that it demands. The response has been to delay the new hospital programme even further, which is a staggering miscalculation. It will cost the country billions to keep old—indeed, dying—hospitals on life support, including around £400 million for the Royal Berkshire hospital alone. I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, as a governor of that hospital, and a family member works there as well. The Royal Berkshire staff are hard-working, compassionate people, as are the doctors, nurses and other clinical professionals working across the country. Our NHS staff are truly the best of us. Despite the best efforts of the hospital trust, the conditions they work in are very poor.”
“We need to do better. My hon. Friend spoke eloquently about the challenges with capacity at his local hospital, St Helier. Such hospitals are suffering from many years of Conservative under-investment and neglect. The story is repeated across the country: crumbling buildings; leaky roofs; sewage leaks, in some cases; and equipment faults that delay diagnosis and care. That did not happen in just the last two years, so I hope the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans), will show some contrition for the part that the Conservatives played in there being a lack of capital investment over many years, which allowed those conditions to develop. The promise of 40 new hospitals, which was made by the Conservatives but had nothing at all behind it, will not be forgotten for generations.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean) for securing this extremely important debate. Let us make no mistake: what we are talking about today is a national scandal. Many parts of our hospitals are falling to pieces. That is not just political rhetoric; it is a statement about genuine risk. Some of my constituents, for example, use Frimley Park hospital, which is primarily built out of RAAC, and it has already lasted for twice as long as it was supposed to. In January, the National Audit Office reported that the most urgent RAAC-related phase of the new hospital programme would be completed at least two years later than originally planned, and could take even longer, despite the pressing safety risks posed by buildings with RAAC.”
“The funding given to local authorities is woefully inadequate to maintain the roads, let alone improve them. While Department for Transport funding remains well below historical levels in real terms, local authorities such as Wokingham have also had their funding dramatically cut by the Government. How do the Government expect local authorities like Wokingham to deliver on the objectives of the new road safety strategy?”
“Early last year, I visited several stores in Wokingham, Emmbrook and Arborfield to speak with managers about shoplifting. Stores were seeing increasingly frequent and targeted incidents of shoplifting, which was impacting their businesses and customers. It was clear that store managers need better responses from the police when it comes to tackle shoplifting as the incident is happening. Needless to say, better police responses on tackling crimes as they happen also help prevent future crimes. If the Government really want to restore neighbourhood policing and rebuild public trust in policing, they need to ensure that reforms are done properly, and that more police officers are put on our streets and in our communities.”
“As my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson) said earlier, Liberal Democrats have long called for a return to proper community policing. After years of Conservative chaos and mismanagement, it is clear in Wokingham and across the country that there are not enough police officers. Residents in Wokingham are always telling me that they want to see more bobbies on the beat and a visible and trusted police presence in our communities, focusing on preventing and solving crimes. That community presence is important, but it is not the only reason why we need greater police numbers; many in Wokingham tell me that they need to see better police responses to crime as well. Shop managers do not want to feel that shoplifting is not important when they contact the police.”
“Ultimately, the Government need to re-think their fair funding review 2.0 if they want to avoid starving councils like Wokingham of much-needed cash to run their vital services.”
“Without a clear timetable, responsible financial planning is not possible. We cannot just consider short and medium-term solutions. I have spoken to many local care providers, and I have seen through casework that there is a real problem with spiralling provision costs and availability. The Government must bring forward a fully funded long-term plan for adult social care reform, ensuring that local authority funding settlements are not determined by the escalating costs of a social care system that is bankrupting councils and placing unsustainable pressure on the NHS. Action needs to be taken now, after years of Conservative neglect. From 2016, David Cameron and the five subsequent Prime Ministers promised reform to adult social care, and yet they achieved nothing.”
“For 2025-26, Wokingham borough council allocated 39% of its budget to adult social care and 25% on children’s services. So much of the council’s budget is allocated to vital statutory services provided to residents, whether that is supporting SEND education, home-to-school transport or social care for vulnerable adults. The Government’s cuts to funding will have significant implications for these services—implications that need to be to be grappled with and planned for by councils. The settlement, though, provides little information for local authorities such as Wokingham on how to manage SEND costs until 2028, or on how existing deficits, which increase every day, will be resolved. I urge the Government to provide a clear timeline for when councils will receive certainty on the SEND deficit.”
“The settlement is unfair, and it is a disaster for my constituents. Wokingham borough council is already the lowest funded unitary authority per capita in the country, as it was under the Conservative Government for more than 10 years. As a result of this so-called fair funding review, the Labour Government are cutting a further £43 million from Wokingham borough council’s budget. Wokingham is a Liberal Democrat-run council, and it has done its best over the last four years to balance the books while coping with massively growing adult social care costs. When I was leader of the council, I tried to improve the settlement, and my successor has continued to do so. These cuts will drive councils that are already struggling with rising costs for social care and children’s services to possible breaking point.”
“I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I have long campaigned for community energy, but it is not enough to have a plan to deliver local power projects in the future, when there are projects around the country ready to go now, but sadly not supported by the national grid. In Wokingham, the Barkham solar farm is ready to go, but the National Grid is not yet ready to hook it up to the grid. It has delayed doing that for far too long, and it recently came up with a reason for another long delay. What is the Minister doing to fix this failure and get the Barkham solar farm hooked up to the grid for the benefit of our local community?”
“As my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) said, Jimmy Lai’s conviction is a massive failure for the Prime Minister, who said that he could change outcomes. This sends a worrying signal to Hongkongers living in Wokingham and across the UK, many of whom face intimidation from China when they are simply standing up for their civil liberties. What steps are the Government taking to protect pro-democracy Hongkongers in Wokingham and across the UK, who feel themselves to be under threat from Chinese authorities in our country? These residents are very concerned, and many of them fear for their lives.”
“These steps to speed up diagnosis and improve treatment, along with investment in staff and research, will start to improve survival rates for the 12,700 people diagnosed with a brain tumour every year in the UK. Lastly, much has been mentioned about clinical trials in this debate. They are needed desperately, and it is my hope that Ministers will make this their personal priority in their discussions with drug companies in the next few months, and that we will see some real progress, with many more clinical trials starting in the next few years.”
“Due to a lack of nationwide regulations and practices on brain tissue freezing, however, there is a shameful inequality in brain cancer care. Sadly, the Royal Berkshire hospital and Frimley hospital, both used by my constituents, do not have the capability to flash-freeze or store brain tissue. As a result, many in Wokingham and across Berkshire cannot access advanced technologies such as personalised immunotherapy treatment and the more accurate genome sequencing that are key to attacking the cancer effectively. This is why the Government must ensure equal access to high-quality tissue storage pathways across the country. It is not right that where someone lives affects the treatment they get, and thus their chances of survival.”
“This means that many brain cancer patients in Wokingham are missing out on the effective and timely treatment that would drastically improve their survival outcomes. To help address this, the Government need to replace ageing radiotherapy machines as soon as possible and invest in new ones, so that no one is denied access to treatment or has to travel far from home. There is also a serious issue with equal access to new advanced treatments for brain cancer. Personalised immunotherapy vaccines have proven to be an effective treatment for brain cancer. This treatment, as well as advanced diagnostics and research, requires brain tissue from a patient to be flash-frozen to preserve DNA and RNA. It is then used to develop rounds of an immunotherapy vaccine.”
“Even more shocking is that, in 2023, 25% of brain cancer patients at the Royal Berks waited longer than 124 days to begin treatment after an urgent referral. That is just not good enough, which is why my colleagues, and many others in the House, are calling on the Government to introduce a guarantee for 100% of patients to start treatment for cancer within 62 days of an urgent referral. The Government must start to listen to the people who are calling for that. A key step towards this aim is improving access to effective treatment. In the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West integrated care board, which covers Wokingham, just 30% of cancer patients receive radiotherapy treatment within the 62-day treatment standard.”
“Emergency diagnosis means that patients often face worse chances of survival and fewer treatment options, especially options that avoid harm. The Government must act to ensure that brain cancer is caught earlier to give patients a better chance of survival. That is why the Government must speed up the diagnostic pathway by improving GP access to diagnostic imaging and improve the patchy access to MRI and CT scans. Even when a patient gets a diagnosis, many experience delays in starting treatment. In 2024, 75% of brain cancer patients at the Royal Berkshire hospital near my constituency began treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral. That is below the standard expected proportion of 85%.”
“I thank the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) and my hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) for securing this evening’s important debate. Brain cancer is a particularly nasty and lethal form of cancer, and one of the least improved cancers in terms of survival rates. Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of adults and children under 40 and are largely unpreventable. After years of Conservative neglect of cancer care, the Government’s recent national cancer plan takes steps to address the crisis in cancer care. That is definitely to be welcomed, but it is clear that brain cancer care still needs urgent attention. A big cause of low brain cancer survival rates is slow diagnosis. In England, 45% of patients are diagnosed in an emergency setting—over two times the rate of all other cancers.”
“I thank the Leader of the House for his comments about the Westminster Hall debate. Yesterday, the Government finally launched a national cancer plan, which contained many ambitious targets. However, that plan requires us to have firm checks in place, so that we can ensure that promises on paper are delivered in practice. The plan states that “A reformed National Cancer Board” will “provide regular updates to ministers.” However, Parliament and MPs also need regular updates, so will the Leader of the House commit to ensuring that there will be regular opportunities for MPs in all parts of the House to scrutinise the delivery of the national cancer plan, perhaps starting with an update before the summer recess?”
“How are the Government engaging directly with Sudanese civilian coalitions, including the Somoud coalition, to ensure that their proposals inform international mediation efforts?”
“I was the first MP in this Parliament to call for a national cancer plan back in October 2024, so I congratulate the Secretary of State and the Minister for publishing the plan. There are some good things in it: the concentration on children and young people’s cancers; the concentration on rare and less-survivable cancers; and more desperately needed screening. Targets in the plan are also to be welcomed, but if they are to be met, there is a need for workforce expansion, especially in oncology, pathology, radiology and clinical nurse specialists. The extra cash that the Secretary of State has obtained for the plan from the Treasury is not enough to achieve all his ambitious plans right away. How will the Secretary of State and the Minister get from the Chancellor the money needed to make this plan a success?”
“Patients, cancer charities and healthcare professionals have been calling for urgent investment in oncology to prevent a postcode lottery of care. Unfortunately, regional inequalities exist, denying many patients access to effective treatment or quicker diagnosis. Will the House schedule time to consider what funding and workforce measures are being prioritised in the national cancer plan to address the gaps?”
“My constituents’ 11-year-old son perforated his eardrum in July and was referred for paediatric ear, nose and throat treatment, but they were then informed that the waiting time for standard referrals was 12 to 14 months and given no indication of when treatment might start. Understandably, they are very worried that the delay will cause long-term damage to their son’s hearing. Surely the Leader of the House agrees that the issue is a real concern and that it is not the service that our constituents expect and deserve from our NHS. It is a workforce issue, so will he allow a debate in Government time on addressing waiting times for ENT treatment?”
“How many times do my Lib Dem colleagues and I need to come to the House and tell the Government that Trump cannot be trusted? His behaviour is that of a spoilt child, bullying his allies while looking to swell the coffers of those closest to him. By working with our European partners in NATO, we must persuade Trump that his aggressive approach to Greenland and the threats of tariffs is not acceptable behaviour from our closest ally. I ask the Foreign Secretary to try to persuade the Prime Minister that we need to stand up to this bully in the White House before he causes untold damage to the UK and to Europe.”
“The upcoming national cancer plan is a vital opportunity to resolve chronic issues in cancer care and to improve survival outcomes after 10 years of neglect from the Conservatives. With the plan’s announcement likely to be just a few weeks away, can the Leader of the House confirm what time will be allocated for its full debate and scrutiny by the House?”
“If Ukraine cannot rely on Trump, then Europe must be all the more united in its support of Ukraine. Trump has shown time and again that he does not care about international rules and obligations, and is more interested in cosying up to autocrats and increasing the coffers of the wider Trump family. Threatening to invade Greenland is the latest proof that Trump is not pro-democracy and cannot be trusted by the international community. The Government clearly must focus on joining with our European neighbours to support our friends’ territory and way of life, and not just Ukraine. If we do not do so, history tells us that the aggressor will turn their attention to the UK, which is a situation we really do not want to happen.”
“A serious concern shared by Ukrainians in Wokingham relates to the crimes of the Russian army. Over 20,000 children have been abducted since the start of Russia’s invasion. This disgusting tactic of the Russian armed forces, authorised by Putin, threatens to rob Ukraine of its future. I would like to know from the Minister whether the Government recognise that those massive abductions constitute war crimes. Will they hold Putin to account for those crimes by implementing the outstanding International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him? It is not just Putin who has been shown to be a bad actor. My constituents write to me all the time to express their disgust at Trump’s behaviour. Whether it is bullying Zelensky in the White House or extorting a vulnerable country for its minerals, the President has acted shamefully.”
“My constituents, three single mothers, have suffered at the hands of builders who built substandard homes without crucial damp-proof membrane and damp-proof courses. That meant that my constituents’ homes were riddled with damp and mould, and the house builders have not addressed this serious fault for far too long. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that house builders can be held to account by residents, and that, if needed, local authorities can end relationships with underperforming house builders to protect residents?”
“Let me once again offer some advice. The best way to balance the books is to grow our economy, and the quickest way to do that is to repair the damage of the Conservatives’ terrible Brexit deal by negotiating a bespoke EU-UK customs union. A better trade deal like that would raise more than £25 billion for the Exchequer, which would be a huge boost for the public finances. It is suggested nearly every week in this place by Liberal Democrats. When will the Minister and his colleagues start to listen?”
“I rise to speak to clause 10. It is utterly unfair and shameful that this Government are raising taxes on struggling families by freezing or continuing the freeze of income tax thresholds, which was started by the Conservatives. The Conservative Government spent years hitting people with stealth taxes, and Labour, sadly, has decided to continue to do the same. Clause 10 freezes the basic rate limit for income tax at £37,700, and it freezes the amount of personal allowance at £12,570 until 2030-31. This extension of the Tories’ stealth tax will hit ordinary families, people on low incomes and pensioners whose only income is the state pension. The Government have again turned their back on some of the most vulnerable for the sake of another short-sighted tax grab. Does the Minister really think that is fair?”
“Cancer patients are suffering due to variations in cancer care across the country. In particular, clinical nurse specialists—a key part of cancer care—are stretched very thinly and are unable meet patients’ needs in many regions. A Breast Cancer Now survey found that a quarter of respondents had not seen a clinical nurse specialist since their diagnosis. Can we have a debate in Government time on how best to tackle variation in cancer care, and particularly the problems in accessing clinical nurse specialists?”
“The cost of providing the right freezers would be small for each hospital trust. I entirely agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) and other Members who have today called for other tissues to be frozen, not just brain tissue. Like many other Members today, I am really pleased to see the Minister in her place. I have a very simple question for her: can she confirm that equal access to high-quality tissue storage pathways will be addressed in the upcoming national cancer plan?”
“Brain cancer is already the biggest killer of people under 40, and 45% of brain cancers are diagnosed in an emergency setting, meaning that the cancer has progressed untreated and that the patient is more unlikely to tolerate treatment. Given so many factors affect survival outcomes for brain cancer patients, the Government need to start improving treatment of brain cancer now. Most brain cancer patients in Wokingham cannot access advanced technologies, such as personalised immunotherapy cancer treatments that rely on frozen tissue. The Royal Berkshire NHS foundation trust and the Frimley Health NHS foundation trust do not have any medical-grade freezers suitable for storing tissue samples, and they have no access to the rapid freezing equipment suitable for brain tissue. That situation needs to change.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I thank the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Chris Evans) for securing this important debate, and all other hon. Members who have contributed. I would also like to highlight the incredible work done by the campaigners for Owain’s law—you are doing a most remarkable campaign. Owain was diagnosed with a grade 4 tumour in 2022 and sadly died in 2024. Despite showing success, Owain stopped receiving effective treatment because not enough of his brain tissue was frozen to make further immunotherapy vaccines. Owain’s wife, Ellie, is calling for fair and equal access to brain tissue freezing, enabling every patient to access new treatments and research. The Government need to listen to the campaign, to act and to invest in brain tumour freezing so that we can start to save more lives.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered less survivable cancers. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I declare an interest as a governor of the Royal Berkshire hospital; also, a family member has shares in a medical company. I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for allowing this debate, which I first asked for six months ago— [ Interruption. ]”
“That is a school play someone will not see, a set of exam results that they will miss, or a first day at university, a graduation, a significant birthday of their own or of a loved one, or the birth of a grandchild that someone will not see.”
“Every year in the UK, 90,000 people are diagnosed with a less survivable cancer—cancers of the brain, liver, lungs, pancreas, oesophagus and stomach. Together, they represent 40% of all cancer deaths and account for 67,000 deaths every year. The less survivable cancers have been overlooked for far too long. While many other cancers have seen major advancements in survival, survival rates for those six cancers have remained staggeringly low for the past 25 years. The collective five-year survival rate for those cancers is just 16%. The sad reality for the 90,000 people diagnosed with one of the cancers is that 75,000 will not survive more than five years.”
“Yes, that was the Minister calling me to apologise. [ Laughter. ] I asked the Committee for the debate six months ago, but having it one month before the probable publication of a national cancer plan is not a bad date for it. I also thank the less survivable cancers taskforce, Cancer Research UK and Myeloma UK for their help and guidance in securing and preparing for this debate. As I have mentioned many times here and in the main Chamber, I am a cancer survivor. The experience has shown me how important early diagnosis and effective treatment are to our outcomes. My diagnosis was delayed, because I was sent away by the first GP I saw and had to wait several months again before being diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, my treatment was successful, but many others are not so lucky, especially those with less survivable cancers.”
“It does. The more that people like me and others who have survived cancer talk about it, and about our experience of a delay and having the cancer spread, the more that will help others to come forward.”
“The hon. Member makes a very good intervention. He is absolutely right that we need to ensure that this is covered in the national cancer plan. From what I am hearing, I am optimistic that it will be.”
“Concerningly, brain tumours are diagnosed in emergency settings, which is closely linked to worse outcomes. That is common for myeloma patients—an incurable blood cancer. A third of people with myeloma are diagnosed via emergency presentation. Like the delay in diagnosing less survivable cancers, this means that their cancer has progressed untreated, and the condition has become more advanced, so their ability to tolerate treatments may be seriously hampered. The APPG’s inquiry produced some recommendations for the Government that illustrate the broad range of actions needed to achieve earlier detection and faster diagnosis, from equipping GPs with better tools and rolling out targeted screening programmes to promoting greater research into innovative diagnostics.”
“During the inquiry, the APPG heard from people with lived experience—clinicians, researchers, charities and the industry—about what vital measures are needed in the national cancer plan to improve earlier detection and faster diagnosis. The APPG found that if earlier diagnosis rates were doubled, an additional 7,500 lives would be saved every year. Deaths from those cancers could quickly be reduced by 10%. Faster diagnosis is integral to saving lives and improving outcomes for people impacted by less survivable cancers. Simply put, it enables patients to access treatment and care much quicker, increasing their chances of survival. We are currently far from achieving this: just 28% of less survivable cancers are diagnosed at stages 1 or 2, compared with 54% for all other cancers.”
“It is also fair to ask the Conservative shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson): why are we ranked so low after the Conservatives’ 14 years in Government? Perhaps it is due to the challenges in how our healthcare and cancer services are organised, and our service delivery, rather than the availability of treatment options. It is vital that we learn from our international counterparts and understand what systemic changes they have made to drive progress. The all-party parliamentary group on less survivable cancers, of which I am a member, launched an inquiry into earlier detection and faster diagnosis.”
“The hon. Member makes a good point; we definitely need more clinical trials in this country. We have been lagging behind in the last few years, and we need them nationally, rather than just in Scotland, Wales, England or Northern Ireland. That would be advantageous for both drug companies and the people who benefit from those trials. For many of these less survivable cancers, survival rates in the UK lag behind other countries. We can see from our international counterparts, including Australia, Belgium, Denmark and the US, that progress is achievable, and that system reforms can play a key role in driving better patient outcomes. For example, the UK is ranked 29th out of 33 countries for pancreatic cancer survival. It is fair to ask the Minister: why is the UK ranked so low?”
“The Minister will know from this debate that I and many other colleagues here today, and many who are not able to attend, will be watching her actions and the actions of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister. We will be expecting results and massive improvements in the coming years.”
“If passed, the Bill would ensure there was a named lead in the Government with a responsibility to support research and innovation for these cancers. The Bill would improve patient access to relevant research and clinical trials, and it would place a duty on the Government to review and reform orphan drug regulations to incentivise greater research into treatments for rare cancers. The Government need to act now to improve survival outcomes for less survivable cancers. Investment and reform are needed to speed up diagnosis and improve treatment, and investment in research is essential to reaching this aim. With upcoming legislation on cancer care, there is a real opportunity for the Government to act now, to be bold and to erase the previous Government’s failure to prioritise cancer diagnosis, treatment, care and outcomes.”
“Poor survival outcomes result in fewer patients taking part in clinical trials and studies, and that in turn contributes to fewer breakthroughs and less research investment—a vicious cycle that can and must be broken. Consistent, sustained research is crucial for delivering breakthroughs. The Rare Cancers Bill, which is progressing through Parliament, has the potential to transform research into less survivable cancers. I thank the hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) for sponsoring the Bill and for all his work on cancer policy. He is a true champion for cancer patients in this Parliament. The Rare Cancers Bill is a truly groundbreaking piece of legislation that has the potential to deliver the essential research investment and focus needed to unlock breakthroughs and drive better patient outcomes.”
“The current standard is too low for rapidly increasing cancers such as the less survivable ones. That is crucial, because it would ensure that more people were well enough to tolerate treatment. Research and development is also important as part of improving treatment effectiveness and diagnostics. Research into less survivable cancers has historically been underfunded, and that must change, as recognised by clinicians and many others. Isla, a constituent of my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain), has started a petition calling for more funding of research into pancreatic cancer, and it has attracted more than 200,000 signatures.”