Thank you for contacting me about cancer treatment during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
The NHS is open for business and anyone who needs care and treatment should continue to access it as and when they need it, especially when delays could impose both an immediate and a long term risk to health.
I know that the Government is absolutely committed to supporting the NHS recovery from COVID-19, recognising the need to go beyond the record funding already provided. The elective backlog, will be tackled with the biggest catch up programme in the NHS's history and I know that cancer patients will continue to be prioritised. I especially welcome the doubling of spending this year, to £2 billion, to start this important work. Additionally more than £8 billion will be spent in the following three years from 2022-23 to 2024-25.
Cancer patients will absolutely benefit from these commitments, which could deliver the equivalent of around nine million more checks, scans and procedures. It will also mean the NHS in England can aim to deliver around 30 per cent more elective activity by 2024-25 than it was before the pandemic.
This will be supported by £325 million for NHS diagnostics, which will help to ensure that cancer patients are able to access the care that they need as safely and quickly as possible.
I hope, like me, you are reassured by these commitments from the Government. Any further funding is subject to the 2021 Spending Review in the autumn.