To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to meet their target of 96 per cent of cancer patients receiving treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat.

Tackling cancer is a key priority for the Government. Ministers and officials continue to work closely with NHS England to increase positive outcomes for all cancer types. The Government has allocated an additional £8 billion across this Spending Review period, to increase capacity and support elective recovery.

As outlined in the 2024/25 NHS Planning Guidance, NHS England are providing over £266 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances to support delivery of the operational priorities for cancer, increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity.

We are building our cancer workforce. In January 2024 there were over 35,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the cancer workforce, an increase of over 13,300, or 60.7%, since January 2010. This includes over 8,100 FTE consultants in January 2024, an increase of over 3,300, or 69.6%, since January 2010.