The Government’s policy is to work with Parliament to deliver a deal that ensures we leave the European Union, as planned, on March 29th.

Revoking Article 50 would not only betray the vote of the British people in the 2016 referendum, but it would betray the mandates on which the majority of MP’s were elected into Parliament.

The British people gave a clear instruction to leave and we are delivering on that instruction.

My Lords, it is the Department of Health’s view that no assessment is required as no changes are needed to the law or medical guidance in this area. The current system allows for doctors to initiate novel treatments provided that they are evidence-based, in the best interests of the patient, and with patient consent. While the law does not seek to block innovation, it does require new forms of treatment to be rigorously tested before being introduced.

The Government has not made any assessment of the impact of the current law on medical negligence on scientific discovery in cancer.

The Government is not in a position to give legal advice to doctors. The law allows doctors to initiate novel treatments which may require them to deviate from standard procedure, as long as they are done in the best interests of the patient and with patient consent.

Negligence is not set out in statute but is developed through the Courts i.e. it falls under Tort law. The Courts look at a range of facts presented in each case, including acts and omissions to act, and the defendant will need to show they met their duty of care in relation to the individual that has been harmed so as not to have been negligent in breaching the duty.

In December 2011, the National Health Service Chief Executive Sir David Nicholson published a report entitled, Innovation health and wealth, accelerating adoption and diffusion in the NHS. This articulated the importance of innovation in NHS England's ambition to ramp up the pace and scale of change, and deliver better outcomes for patients across all five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework. Since publication, NHS England has progressed a number of key programmes including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence implementation collaborative, Academic Health Science Networks and

the Innovation scorecard. These and other initiatives are helping to embed a coordinated approach and greater awareness of the importance of innovative thinking and practice throughout the health care system.

In addition, a new dedicated Innovation Team has been established within NHS England's Medical Directorate. The team works across the NHS, social care, academia and industry on a range of initiatives which facilitate the generation, identification, adoption and diffusion of innovative ideas, products and technologies.

The Department has made no specific assessment of this issue.

The Office for National Statistics publishes national cancer mortality data annually. Data are collected where cancer has been recorded as the cause of death, but not on treatment for cancer as the cause of death. I therefore regret that I am unable to provide this information.