Adam Thompson

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher), who made an incredibly powerful speech. I also thank the hon. Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones) for bringing forward this Bill, and recognise the very genuine concern for cancer patients and their families that sits behind his doing so. There are few issues that could unite our House more totally than the battle against cancer. Every one of us knows someone whose life has been impacted by this terrible disease, and we have just heard about my dear friend’s loss of his friend, Peter. For many families, a diagnosis, the uncertainty of waiting for results and the anxiety of waiting for treatment are among the most difficult moments that they will ever face. I think we can all agree that when someone receives that diagnosis, they deserve the best care that our NHS is able to provide. That person deserves to be able to get the diagnosis as early as they possibly can. Following their diagnosis, they deserve timely treatment and to know that everything possible is being done to give them the best chance of recovery. We can all wholeheartedly support those objectives. I recognise the importance of the issues raised by the hon. Member for Wokingham, particularly around transparency, accountability and tackling inequalities in health outcomes, but we must ask ourselves an important question: do we need this legislation to achieve those objectives? I am not sure that we necessarily do. The Government have already published their national cancer plan for England, a 10-year strategy setting out a clear direction for improving cancer outcomes, increasing earlier diagnosis and tackling the inequalities that exist in cancer care. It is a significant commitment, with the ambition of reducing the number of lives lost to cancer over the next decade.