Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has today called on the Government to explain why the work of the groundbreaking Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce has been paused.
A Government response on 6 September to a Written Question (UIN 2283) posed by Caroline signalled the Government’s intention to pause the work of the Taskforce which was established at the start of this year, after a long campaign by Caroline and her constituent Charlotte Fairall.
Intervening in a statement on the NHS in the House of Commons, Caroline asked Health Secretary Wes Streeting why the work had been paused.
Speaking in the Chamber, Caroline said:
“The Secretary of State will know that cancer is the biggest cause of death by illness of children under the age of 14 in the UK and September is Children's Cancer Awareness Month.
“He won't know that September is also the third anniversary of the death of my constituent Sophie Fairall - she was 10 years old - and it's with Sophie's mum Charlotte that I've been campaigning for the last three years for the Children and Young People's Cancer Taskforce to be set up.
“That Taskforce was set up at the beginning of this year with a stated aim of meaningfully changing the way that we detect; the way that we treat; and the way that we care for children with cancer.
“I've heard him very passionately set out how he is wanting to focus on prevention and early intervention and yet this month we’ve also learnt that he's pausing the Children and Young People's Cancer Taskforce.
“Parents of children with cancer and myself are deeply disturbed by this announcement. I wonder if he could explain why?”
Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, replied:
“Absolutely and firstly can I first send my deepest condolences to Sophie's family on what will inevitably be a difficult day and I suspect just the latest of what will continue to be many difficult days in the unimaginable pain and grief and loss that they have suffered.
“The pause is because we want to make sure that as we look at the breadth of the work of the department that we've got the right vehicles to deliver the outcomes that we want to see. That's why we've paused rather than cancelled or slammed or criticized the work that she was already doing and I'd be delighted to meet with her to talk about the genesis of the Taskforce and how we can take forward the outcomes that she wants to see.
“What we're trying to avoid is a plethora of Taskforce and the risk that we've sometimes seen (and this is not a party political point because it spans successive governments) of task forces being an alternative for action and I know that she wants to see action so let's meet and see what we could do together.”
The groundbreaking Department of Health and Social Care’s Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce was the result of 3 years of tireless campaigning by Dame Caroline and her constituent Charlotte Fairall, the founder of children’s cancer charity, Sophie’s Legacy.
In September 2020, Charlotte’s daughter Sophie was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma and tragically passed away a year later, aged just 10 years old.
Charlotte met with Caroline ten days after Sophie‘s death, together they held meetings with experts on a range of subjects from genomics to paediatric oncology, to gather information about the issues and the solutions. In January 2022 Caroline raised the matter in Prime Minister’s Questions and in April 2022 she secured the first ever childhood cancer debate in the House of Commons.
Caroline and Charlotte met with various Health Secretaries proposing a Childhood Cancer Mission developed by a Taskforce that would include scientists, researchers, oncologists, charities and parents, with a goal to create a Children and Young People’s Cancer Plan. In January this year then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the Taskforce would be launched, with Caroline as Chair and Charlotte on the panel. The first ‘sprints’ with experts in research, treatments and diagnostics took place in the spring and the first deliverable action points agreed.
Commenting outside of the House of Commons after the exchange, Caroline said:
“I am glad that the Health Secretary has set out his desire to improve the way we treat cancer, but his answer shows he has no idea about how the Children’s Cancer Taskforce was set up to operate. It is not a talking shop, it’s an action group designed to deliver urgent change, in partnership with leading experts and medical professionals.
“Cancer is the most common cause of childhood death outside of infancy, but only 3% of cancer research funds are allocated for children.
“I would rather the Taskforce wasn’t paused at all while precious time and momentum is wasted. And while I am glad that he is willing to meet me to talk about the Taskforce, I hope its vital work will be allowed to continue at pace.”
Reacting to the Secretary of State’s answer to Caroline’s question, Charlotte Fairhall said:
“I’m not impressed by the Secretary of State’s answer. I’ve been working tirelessly, with Caroline’s support, to ensure Sophie’s experience delivers a meaningful legacy for other children and young people with cancer. This was just beginning to bear fruit; first meetings had taken place and action points already made. Stalling the work at this stage feels retrograde and unnecessary.”
The Taskforce unites top clinicians and researchers, leading cancer charities, and the Government, with the common goal of saving lives and reducing the long-term impacts of cancer. Structured meetings with experts and senior figures from the Department for Health and Social Care, NHS England, the Office for Life Sciences, as well as appointees from the wider clinical community, were already taking place, designed to drive forward measurable progress in improving cancer outcomes for children.
ENDS
For more information contact [email protected]
