6. Will the Minister provide an update on the timetable for publishing the cancer services action plan? OQ58868

I need the answer. [Laughter.] Thank you. I expect the cancer services action plan—the NHS’s response to our policy expectations set out in 'The quality statement for cancer'—to be published at the end of January in the run-up to World Cancer Day.

The Minister will know that the cross-party group on cancer is currently carrying out an inquiry, particularly into the issues of deprivation and cancer. There seems to be a direct correlation, from all of the evidence that we've heard in two sessions, so there's clearly a great anticipation of driving forward on the cancer action plan. I wonder if she has any preliminary thoughts herself on the work that the CPG on cancer is undertaking currently, and that very question of not just bringing forward the action plan, but the issue of the impact of deprivation clearly on incidence of cancer, both in terms of diagnosis, treatment, care and the success of a successful life after cancer as well, and living with cancer.

Thanks very much, Huw, and can I thank you for the work that you and the CPG are doing on this really important area? Because one of the key things that we are conscious of all of the time in relation to health is inequality. So, why is it that some people are getting very different treatment? And obviously there's a link with deprivation, and we need to make sure that we're addressing that. So, it's one of the key things that we keep on looking at.

There are factors where, actually, we need to make sure that we're getting the right messaging to avoid cancer. So, obviously, we need to make sure people are cutting down on smoking, they need to be eating the right kinds of food, they need to be doing exercise, and actually we've got to make sure that that deprivation link is broken. I know that my colleague Lynne Neagle's doing a huge amount of work in this space to make sure the healthy eating programme, for example, is very targeted at some of those areas of greatest deprivation, and there is a link—let's be clear, there is a link with cancer. 

So, I'm pleased that we have the single cancer pathway and of course we also now have these rapid diagnostic centres around Wales. 

Minister, in the past couple of weeks I have repeated the need for you to outline to the Senedd the outcome of the cancer summit held more than a month ago, and described as unprecedented and significant, where a number of key actions were agreed to. What progress have you made in taking this agreement forward, and why has this Government failed to respond quickly to the clear urgency that was set out in that cancer summit? Thank you.

Thanks very much, Altaf. I think I've responded to a letter from you on this, so I'm surprised that you haven't received that yet, so I'll chase that up immediately after this. But I think what was important for some of the things that came out of that cancer summit meeting was the need to make sure we do a lot more straight to test, so you cut out some of the waiting time, because, obviously, the sooner you catch cancer, the less complicated it is and much easier it is to treat. So, there are some health boards that are in a really different place to others. One health board, for example, does about 37 per cent straight to test, and another does about 79 per cent. Highlighting those kinds of things in a summit meeting, making sure that everybody tries to work to best practice and that we're benchmarking is really important, I think. I think there's also an unacceptable variation in terms of tumour sites. As we've heard today, gynaecology is an area that needs a lot more attention, and there are other areas where, actually, we're doing much better, so why are we seeing that variation? So, those are some of the questions that we've asked them to focus on. 

Also, I think we've got a lot more to do in terms of making sure that we use digital technology as much as we can, but also that we think about what the future might look like. There are real developments now in terms of cancer in relation to, for example, liquid biopsy tests, and we need to make sure that we're on the right page and ready for those when that development really is mature enough for us to use.