§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the Government response to the Science and Technology Committee 6 report of Session 1999–2000, HC723, on Cancer Research; and if he will make a statement. [139648]
§ Yvette CooperWe have published the Government Response today, as Cm 4928, and copies are available in the Library. We welcome the thorough inquiry into all the research and related issues that the Committee has conducted. We accept many of the recommendations in the report.
When the Committee published its report, we decided that an essential first step in improving cancer research and, through this, cancer care in this country, was to create a NHS Cancer Research Network. By 2003, we will be investing an additional £20 million each year on this new initiative.
The NHS Cancer Research Network will have a direct impact on the quality of cancer care by integrating research and cancer care; improving the quality, speed and co-ordination of cancer research; and increasing the number of NHS organisations, health care professionals, and patients participating in cancer research studies. The initial target for the NCRN will be to double the number of cancer patients entering trials within three years. The first step in establishing the NHS Cancer Research Network is to commission a Co-ordinating Centre and an appointment has now been made, following an open competition.
The Co-ordinating Centre will be a joint enterprise. Two groups will work together to achieve the overall aims of the NHS Cancer Research Network. A consortium involving the universities of Leeds and York and the MRC Clinical Trials Unit, led by Professor Peter Selby will concentrate on operating a network for controlled trials, especially of new approaches that have shown promise in diagnosing, treating and caring for patients with cancer. Professor David Kerr will lead the NHS's contribution to early studies translating advances in basic science into promising new treatments for cancer through a network of centres.
In relation to further action, we agree with the Committee that a new 'bricks and mortar' institute for cancer research is not the best way forward in this country. We need a different type of mechanism to plan and co-ordinate the drive on cancer research in general. We have asked the Department's Director of Research & Development (Professor Sir John Pattison) and the National Cancer Director (Professor Mike Richards) to consult all those involved in the funding and delivery of 828W cancer research, and then to come forward with definitive proposals for a National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI).
Through these and other measures outlined in our response, the Government will be taking a major step forward in the benefits cancer research can bring to patients. We thank the Committee for their work and their contribution to the debate on improving cancer research and care in this country.