Department of Health and Social Care written question – answered at on 25 June 2026.
Andrew Snowden
Opposition Assistant Whip (Commons)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a National Specialty Lead for rare cancers has been appointed, in the context of the Rare Cancers Act 2026.
Preet Kaur Gill
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Government will implement the Rare Cancers Act 2026 by ensuring that a National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers is appointed by summer 2026.
The National Specialty Lead will be based in the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network (RDN) and will support research delivery for rare cancers research.
National specialty leads are part time roles that are appointed through a competitive process as a secondment to the University of Leeds who provide the NIHR RDN Coordinating Centre working with and on behalf of the Department. The role has been advertised nationally, and a recruitment process is underway.
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