The Department and NHS England continue to work with cancer stakeholders on the implementation of the National Cancer Plan and will discuss the development of cancer manuals with relevant stakeholders.

As set out in our National Cancer Plan, the first wave of manuals will include an equal balance of rare cancers, where survival has been slowest, and the most common cancers. It is in the combination of both points that we will maximise progress against our ambition to reduce disparities in cancer survival.

While no specific assessment has been made of diagnostic imaging turnaround time guidance and the needs of patients with a recognised terminal diagnosis or the impact of separate reporting time standards, the Government is committed to reducing waiting times for all patients and expects providers to communicate findings in a compassionate manner.

NHS England has established diagnostic reporting turnaround time guidance that applies to all patients. For diagnostic imaging tests, including computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans, the guidance states that verified reports should be available within four weeks of image acquisition. Performance against turnaround times is monitored through routine national reporting. In addition, cancer pathways are supported by national cancer waiting time standards, including the Faster Diagnosis Standard, which aims to ensure that patients receive a diagnosis or have cancer ruled out promptly following an urgent suspected cancer referral. The Faster Diagnosis Standard applies to urgent referrals for suspected cancer recurrence.

We are developing a Modern Service Framework (MSF) for Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care. The MSF is a clinically led, evidence-based framework to support sustained improvement in outcomes for patients and carers, including by systematically identifying, measuring, and reducing health inequalities, and reducing unwarranted variation in access, experience, and outcomes. Further metrics and associated targets will build on the 2029 ambitions set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework.

The Young People and Work Report has been commissioned by the UK Government to investigate the persistently high numbers of young people out of work, education and training (NEETs). On the 28^th May 2026, Alan Milburn published his diagnostic report, outlining his discoveries on the drivers of the increase in the number of young people who are part of this group.

The Report is being taken forward in two distinct phases, the first, a discovery phase which will provide a diagnosis on the increase in the number of young people who are NEET. The second phase will be a solution phase, which will identify potential areas for reform, aimed at increasing opportunities for young people.

The final Report is intended to take a holistic view of the welfare, health, skills and employment system and identify areas for reform. The Author will provide a full and final report in September.

Any proposals to change access to the benefits system will be considered in light of the conclusions and recommendations of the Young People and Work Report.

Data is not held on the exact median waiting time to diagnosis for suspected sarcoma from general practice referral. Data is published on the time from referral to diagnosis for suspected sarcoma, by time bands, at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/monthly-data-and-summaries/

The following table shows the number of suspected sarcoma diagnoses, or cancer being ruled out, sorted by time band, in May 2026 for England:

The Government is committed to improving outcomes for rare cancer patients.

Decisions on whether treatments should be routinely available on the National Health Service in England are informed by recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The Department continues to take action to improve outcomes for rare cancers patients. This includes taking action to prioritise access to specialist treatment and multidisciplinary teams for rare cancer patients, and a commitment to explore novel procurement routes for diagnostics and treatments for rare cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has a strong track record in supporting access for NHS patients, including patients with rare cancers, to effective new medicines at a price that represents value to the NHS and is fair to companies. As part of the United States and United Kingdom partnership, announced in December 2025, we will be investing approximately 25% more into new innovative, safe, and effective medicines. As part of this arrangement, NICE is now using a new, higher cost-effectiveness threshold for its evaluations of medicines. The higher threshold has already enabled NICE to recommend additional medicines, including for rare cancers, that it would previously have been unlikely to have been able to recommend.

The Department invests approximately £1.8 billion each year in health and care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes high-quality applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including rare cancers.

The Department does not hold the data on the shortest, median, and longest time for patients to receive the results of a suspected cancer biopsy, broken down by National Health Service trust.

Reducing customer journey times for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service. More information can be found here:

Disability Living Allowance for children timeliness performance, for new claims cleared between 1 August 2025 and 31 March 2026 - GOV.UK

Personal Independence Payment: Official Statistics to April 2026 - GOV.UK

A child or young adult cannot qualify for DLA or PIP unless the disability conditions have been satisfied for an initial period of three months. This helps establish that disability and the resulting needs are of a longstanding nature and ensures that the benefit goes only to those for whom it is intended. Where entitlement conditions are met, Carer’s Allowance can be backdated for up to three months from the date that entitlement to the qualifying disability benefit begins. Severely disabled children and young adults do not always have to wait for the full three months from the date of their claim before they become entitled to DLA or PIP if they have already had the requisite needs arising prior to their claim.

Special considerations also apply to those who are terminally ill, who are awarded the highest rate of the care component of DLA or the enhanced rate of the PIP daily living component automatically without having to complete a qualifying period. Such claims are dealt with quickly and sensitively.

Reducing customer journey times for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service. More information can be found here:

Disability Living Allowance for children timeliness performance, for new claims cleared between 1 August 2025 and 31 March 2026 - GOV.UK

Personal Independence Payment: Official Statistics to April 2026 - GOV.UK

A child or young adult cannot qualify for DLA or PIP unless the disability conditions have been satisfied for an initial period of three months. This helps establish that disability and the resulting needs are of a longstanding nature and ensures that the benefit goes only to those for whom it is intended. Where entitlement conditions are met, Carer’s Allowance can be backdated for up to three months from the date that entitlement to the qualifying disability benefit begins. Severely disabled children and young adults do not always have to wait for the full three months from the date of their claim before they become entitled to DLA or PIP if they have already had the requisite needs arising prior to their claim.

Special considerations also apply to those who are terminally ill, who are awarded the highest rate of the care component of DLA or the enhanced rate of the PIP daily living component automatically without having to complete a qualifying period. Such claims are dealt with quickly and sensitively.

Reducing customer journey times for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service. More information can be found here:

Disability Living Allowance for children timeliness performance, for new claims cleared between 1 August 2025 and 31 March 2026 - GOV.UK

Personal Independence Payment: Official Statistics to April 2026 - GOV.UK

A child or young adult cannot qualify for DLA or PIP unless the disability conditions have been satisfied for an initial period of three months. This helps establish that disability and the resulting needs are of a longstanding nature and ensures that the benefit goes only to those for whom it is intended. Where entitlement conditions are met, Carer’s Allowance can be backdated for up to three months from the date that entitlement to the qualifying disability benefit begins. Severely disabled children and young adults do not always have to wait for the full three months from the date of their claim before they become entitled to DLA or PIP if they have already had the requisite needs arising prior to their claim.

Special considerations also apply to those who are terminally ill, who are awarded the highest rate of the care component of DLA or the enhanced rate of the PIP daily living component automatically without having to complete a qualifying period. Such claims are dealt with quickly and sensitively.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell on 1 July 2026 to Question 10831.

The Government is committed to the National Health Service meeting all cancer waiting time standards by the end of this Parliament. NHS England continues to work towards its March 2027 cancer performance ambitions, including improvements in diagnostic and treatment waiting times.

Recruitment decisions are matters for individual NHS trusts, which are responsible for ensuring they have the workforce required to deliver safe and effective services.

The Government continues to support workforce growth across cancer services and there were more clinical oncology and radiology doctors working in NHS England in April 2026 than in April 2025.

The Government is committed to the National Health Service meeting all cancer waiting time standards by the end of this Parliament. NHS England continues to work towards its March 2027 cancer performance ambitions, including improvements in diagnostic and treatment waiting times.

Recruitment decisions are matters for individual NHS trusts, which are responsible for ensuring they have the workforce required to deliver safe and effective services.

The Government continues to support workforce growth across cancer services and there were more clinical oncology and radiology doctors working in NHS England in April 2026 than in April 2025.

The Government is committed to the National Health Service meeting all cancer waiting time standards by the end of this Parliament. NHS England continues to work towards its March 2027 cancer performance ambitions, including improvements in diagnostic and treatment waiting times.

Recruitment decisions are matters for individual NHS trusts, which are responsible for ensuring they have the workforce required to deliver safe and effective services.

The Government continues to support workforce growth across cancer services and there were more clinical oncology and radiology doctors working in NHS England in April 2026 than in April 2025.

The UK Clinical Research Delivery key performance indicators (UKCRD KPI) report monitors the United Kingdom’s delivery of globally competitive clinical research. The table attached provides the requested figures for phase 1, phase 2, and phase 3 interventional clinical trials, by disease type.

They are an unpublished subset of statistics under indicator six of the UKCRD KPI report, which measures the number of participants recruited to clinical studies. The information is taken from studies recorded on the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network’s (RDN) Central Portfolio Management System.

The data was processed and assured by the NIHR RDN’s data, analytics, and specialty teams using the same established checks applied to data provided to the Department for publication in the UKCRD KPI report.

The Department does not hold cancer waiting times data at a parliamentary constituency level. NHS England publishes cancer waiting times statistics by National Health Service provider and integrated care board, including performance against the faster diagnosis standard (FDS) which replaced the former two-week wait standard in October 2023, as the FDS measures whether patients referred urgently with suspected cancer have cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days.

NHS England also continues to publish data on the time from an urgent suspected cancer referral to a first outpatient attendance and from an urgent breast symptomatic referral to a first hospital assessment. However, these measures do not necessarily indicate when a patient is first seen by a cancer specialist, as they may include attendance with a consultant-led team member, attendance at a diagnostic clinic, or a direct diagnostic test through a straight-to-test pathway. This data is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/monthly-data-and-summaries/2026-27-monthly-cancer-waiting-times-statistics/