Written questions by Cleverly.

What plans his Department has for future funding of AI auto-contouring technology.

Any future spending commitments beyond 2025/26 will be determined through the next phase of the Spending Review process, which will conclude in June.The Department continuously supports the National Health Service in reviewing opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to transform diagnostic performance, bring down waiting times, and supporting staff with their workload.Furthermore, the Department is carrying out work to assess the barriers of effective adoption and improve the way AI tools are deployed across the NHS through a number of initiatives, including the NHS AI Lab’s Ethics Initiative, which invests in research and practical interventions that could strengthen the ethical adoption of AI within health and care and addresses risks and concerns over their use.

What steps his Department is taking to help mitigate the loss of the AI auto-contouring technology tool for cancer treatment planning.

We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including artificial intelligence where it is beneficial to do so.As the Department focuses on shifting from analogue to digital, we will continue to review opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence to speed up diagnostic performance, bring down waiting times, and ultimately improve patient care and outcomes.Furthermore, any future spending commitments beyond 2025/26 will be determined through the next phase of the Spending Review process, which will conclude in June.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of funding for AI auto-contouring technology on patient care.

We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including artificial intelligence where it is beneficial to do so.As the Department focuses on shifting from analogue to digital, we will continue to review opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence to speed up diagnostic performance, bring down waiting times, and ultimately improve patient care and outcomes.Furthermore, any future spending commitments beyond 2025/26 will be determined through the next phase of the Spending Review process, which will conclude in June.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of funding for AI auto-contouring technology on (a) cancer treatment waiting times, (b) patient outcomes and (c) the workload of NHS cancer specialists; and whether he has considered alternative funding mechanisms for the rollout of that technology.

The Department supports the National Health Service in reviewing opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to transform diagnostic performance, bring down waiting times, and support staff with their workload.Furthermore, the Department is carrying out work to assess the barriers of effective adoption and improve the way AI tools are deployed across the NHS through a number of initiatives, including the NHS AI Lab’s Ethics Initiative, which invests in research and practical interventions that could strengthen the ethical adoption of AI within health and care, and addresses risks and concerns over their use.

What steps he is taking to help improve early breast cancer diagnosis.

Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancer, is a priority for the Government. The National Health Service will hit all cancer waiting time targets, so that no patient waits longer than they should.As the first step to ensure faster diagnosis, the NHS is delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week. To support early detection and diagnosis, the NHS in England carries out approximately two million breast cancer screens each year in hospitals and mobile screening vans, usually in convenient community locations.All women between 50 and 71 years old have the opportunity to be screened every three years for breast cancer, to help detect abnormalities and intervene early to reduce the number of lives lost. Additionally, United Kingdom guidelines recommend that women with a moderate or high risk of breast cancer, because of their family history, should start having screening mammograms every year in their forties.On World Cancer Day, the Government announced a major world-leading trial to demonstrate whether artificial intelligence (AI) can help doctors catch breast cancer earlier to enable faster treatment and save more lives, while freeing up valuable resources and capacity. Thirty testing sites across the country will be enhanced with the latest digital AI technologies, ready to invite women already booked in for routine screenings on the NHS to take part.