Damian Hinds

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for the opportunity to express thanks and appreciation, as she has done. She is right that we happen to share a hospital, and it provides fantastic care for so many of my constituents. When the national cancer plan was published, the then shadow Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Stuart Andrew), raised questions about how its ambitions would be realised. He called for a “fully funded long-term workforce plan” alongside “clear, funded milestones showing how and when patients will see improvements”.—[Official Report, 5 February 2026; Vol. 780, c. 455.] The focus needs to be on that plan. Yesterday, we saw the most recent performance statistics from the national health service. It was a difficult set of statistics overall, and cancer standards, by all three measures—the faster diagnosis standard, the 31-day treatment standard and the 62-day treatment standard—had deteriorated month on month. Cancer Research UK’s analysis shows a discrepancy in diagnosis time between those who are ultimately found to be clear of cancer and those who have cancer; it rightly calls for particular analysis of that point. Its analysis also shows that breast cancer referrals had the biggest drop in performance among those who went on to be diagnosed with cancer. The hon. Member for Wokingham is absolutely right that Ministers need to focus on the entire pathway, from risk factors such as smoking and obesity to waiting times, children and young people’s cancer screening, investment in research and key metrics around earlier diagnosis. The key thing, as I know he agrees, is to get all those things done and to make real progress. Time is short, Madam Deputy Speaker, and we need to hear from the Minister about how she can reassure the hon. Gentleman and the House on those points. I hope that she will also update us on the long-awaited health workforce plan, which underpins so many aspects of the NHS. I commend the hon. Gentleman for all he has done and is doing, and for bringing the matter before the House today.