Written questions by Hodgson.

What steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of cancer in teenagers and young adults.

We are committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive. This includes children, teenagers and young adults (CTYA).NHS England has published service specifications that set out the service standards required of all providers of CTYA cancer services. The requirements include ensuring that every patient has access to specialist care and reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from treatment for childhood cancer. The specifications are available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-b/b05/Children’s cancer care is managed by principal treatment centres (PTCs) who ensure quality care. Each PTC has a multi-disciplinary team which meets at least weekly and includes a specific focus on the psychosocial needs of patient. The multi-disciplinary team ensures that each service user is assessed for psychological needs and can access any psychosocial support that is required.The Department is also taking steps to improving waiting times for cancer diagnosis and treatment across all cancer patient groups in England. We will start by supporting the NHS to deliver an extra 40,000 scans, appointments and operations each week to ensure that patients are seen as quickly as possible.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has set out guidance for general practitioners on the symptoms of cancer in CTYA, recommending referral within 48 hours for those presenting with potential cancer symptoms. To support timely investigation after referral, we are working with the NHS to maximise the pace of the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, including via the roll out of community diagnostic centres.

What plans he has to ensure that the 2021 NICE Guideline for ME/CFS is implemented.

The 2021 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines on the diagnosis and management of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), provides recommendations on principles of care for people with severe ME/CFS, including hospital care, and adapting a multidisciplinary approach with access to a range of health and social care professionals based on needs.The NICE’s guidelines are not mandatory, but the Government does expect healthcare commissioners to take the guidelines fully into account in designing services to meet the needs of their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time.No specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of the safety of National Health Service care for patients with severe and very severe ME/CFS, but there are steps that the Government is taking to improve care for patients with ME/CFS, including those with severe and very severe ME/CFS.The Department has funded the £3.2 million DecodeME study with the Medical Research Council to understand the causes and consequences of, and find treatments for, ME/CFS. This study aims to understand if there is a genetic component to the condition and, in doing so, increase our understanding of ME/CFS to support the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.The public consultation on the interim delivery plan for ME/CFS was run in 2023. It has been a priority since July 2024 to publish the response to the 2023 consultation on the ME/CFS interim delivery plan. Departmental officials are in the process of finalising a report summarising the responses, for publication. The consultation responses, alongside continued stakeholder engagement, will inform the development of the final delivery plan, which we aim to publish in the winter of 2024/25. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease, including those with severe and very severe ME/CFS.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the safety of NHS care for patients with (a) severe and (b) very severe ME.

The 2021 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines on the diagnosis and management of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), provides recommendations on principles of care for people with severe ME/CFS, including hospital care, and adapting a multidisciplinary approach with access to a range of health and social care professionals based on needs.The NICE’s guidelines are not mandatory, but the Government does expect healthcare commissioners to take the guidelines fully into account in designing services to meet the needs of their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time.No specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of the safety of National Health Service care for patients with severe and very severe ME/CFS, but there are steps that the Government is taking to improve care for patients with ME/CFS, including those with severe and very severe ME/CFS.The Department has funded the £3.2 million DecodeME study with the Medical Research Council to understand the causes and consequences of, and find treatments for, ME/CFS. This study aims to understand if there is a genetic component to the condition and, in doing so, increase our understanding of ME/CFS to support the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.The public consultation on the interim delivery plan for ME/CFS was run in 2023. It has been a priority since July 2024 to publish the response to the 2023 consultation on the ME/CFS interim delivery plan. Departmental officials are in the process of finalising a report summarising the responses, for publication. The consultation responses, alongside continued stakeholder engagement, will inform the development of the final delivery plan, which we aim to publish in the winter of 2024/25. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease, including those with severe and very severe ME/CFS.

Whether he plans to leverage international cooperation to accelerate (a) biomedical research and (b) treatments for (i) ME and (ii) long covid.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is exploring opportunities with international research partners to foster research cooperation in areas of unmet need. For example, the Department of Health and Social Care has close links with the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Long COVID Research and Practice. The US’ Assistant Secretary for Health has discussed long COVID with the Chief Medical Officer, and the Department of Health and Social Care has also co-hosted a series of researcher exchanges between United Kingdom and US experts.The NIHR and Medical Research Council are committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, and are actively exploring next steps for research in these areas.