Emerging evidence from local services suggests Single Point of Access (SPoA) supports patients to receive rapid specialist assessments and a clear next step for their treatment by embedding a timely specialist clinical review at the start of the pathway, including for cardiology and cardiothoracic referrals. The model helps patients access the right clinic, diagnostic service, or care setting the first time, and averts the need for them to join lengthy hospital waiting lists unnecessarily, ensuring capacity is available for patients that need specialist care. We are also supporting the development and evaluation of streamlined referral pathways, including SPoA and rapid access valve assessment models, as part of wider cardiovascular pathway improvement work.

As set out in the Medium Term Planning Framework all providers are, from April 2026, expected to prioritise Advice and Guidance (A&G) requests for at least 10 specialties, selected locally for the greatest overall benefit, ahead of ensuring all appropriate requests and referrals flow through a SPoA model from October 2026. Providers are expected to begin implementation of SPoA by prioritising the 10 specialties selected for A&G. The specialties selected by providers could include cardiology or cardiothoracic surgery, which would cover care for heart valve disease.

Technical guidance has been issued to providers outlining expectations to support SPoA implementation. There are currently no specific plans to mandate SPoA in national service specifications. However, we are developing a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, due to be published shortly, which will support the adoption of evidence‑based pathway improvements.

Long waits in accident and emergency (A&E) have been proven to be associated with worse patient outcomes and increased patient mortality, and the Government is committed to restoring urgent and emergency care waiting times to the standards set out in the NHS Constitution as laid out in our 10‑Year Health Plan. The medium-term planning framework for the National Health Service, published in October 2025, includes a commitment that 85% of patients wait no more than four hours in A&E by 2028/29, as well as committing to reduce year on year between 2026/7 and 2028/9 the proportion of patients who wait over 12 hours in A&E.

Improving flow through emergency departments is critical to delivering the four- and 12- hour A&E standards. To support this, the Government has provided £450 million of capital investment including in new and expanded Same Day Emergency Care and Urgent Treatment Centres; additional mental health crisis capacity; and connected care records for ambulance services.  In February 2026, the NHS published new national clinical standards, including The Model Emergency Department and The Model Acute Pathway, to support more consistent, high-quality care and improve flow through hospitals.

In June 2026, for the first time, NHS England published data on instances of corridor care, to support trusts to identify and target action to reduce it.

Improving outcomes and survival rates remains a firm priority for the Government across all cancer types. Whilst we have made good progress for many cancer types, survival rates for some cancers are unacceptably low. We are determined to change this.

Research is vital in improving survival rates, which is why the Department invests over £1.8 billion each year on research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.

We are committed to furthering our investment in brain cancer research and have already taken steps to stimulate scientific progress and build scientific capacity to do research on brain cancer.

For example, in January 2026, the NIHR announced increased investment of over £25 million in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer.

The Government will implement the Rare Cancers Act 2026 that will make it easier to recruit rare cancer patients to clinical trials by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.

Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer is a key aim of the National Cancer Plan for England, published in February this year. The plan sets out a step‑change in ambition for cancer survival. By 2035, we will ensure that three in every four people diagnosed with cancer are either cancer‑free or living well five years after diagnosis. That improvement means approximately 320,000 more lives will be saved over the course of this plan.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Gentleman's Parliamentary Question's of 3rd June is attached.

National survival data for malignant brain cancers is collected and monitored. The latest available data for England shows one-year net survival for malignant brain cancer was 44%, and five-year net survival was 16.4%.

The Department recognises that outcomes for people with brain tumours, including glioblastoma, remain poor, and that people living in more deprived areas are more likely to be diagnosed later and experience poorer cancer outcomes. Tackling health inequalities across the cancer pathway, including inequalities linked to deprivation, ethnicity, and geography, is a core priority of the National Cancer Plan for England.

Through the National Cancer Plan, the Government is committed to improving earlier diagnosis, reducing variation in access and outcomes, and strengthening care for people with rare and less survivable cancers, including glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is recognised as a rare and aggressive cancer with limited treatment options, and we continue to support research and innovation, including in genomics, clinical trials, and precision medicine.

The mortality rate of hantaviruses varies considerably depending on the strain and the quality of care available. For the Andes hantavirus, it has been estimated at up to 30 to 50%, however the upper end of that estimate is from data published around 30 years ago and has since declined. With prompt hospital treatment and respiratory support, outcomes may be significantly better.

The United Kingdom’s response to this complex incident is being led by the UK Health Security Agency working closely with the World Health Organization, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Home Office, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Ministry of Defence, the UK Devolved Governments and international partners. Collectively, they are doing everything possible to protect the safety and well-being of British nationals, and to provide reassurance to UK citizens.