Written questions by Munt.

Pursuant to the Answers of 22 January 2025 to Questions 24638, 24639 and 24640 on Radiotherapy: Medical Equipment, whether the criteria developed by NHS England for funding exclude (a) replacing radiotherapy machines purchased by charities for use by the NHS and (b) the costs of artificial intelligence products; and what the three technical specification options are for linear accelerators from which providers need to choose.

The criteria developed by NHS England excludes the replacement of radiotherapy machines purchased by charities. These machines fall outside the scope of National Health Service capital replacement funding, as they are not originally procured through NHS-funded budgets.The costs of artificial intelligence products are not typically covered under NHS capital radiotherapy equipment replacement programmes.

What involvement (a) he and (b) his Ministers had in setting the (i) guidance and (ii) spending limits for the Government's radiotherapy machine fund.

The £70 million of funding for new radiotherapy machines will be allocated to trusts using criteria that NHS England has developed. Officials from the Department have been engaged with NHS England officials in discussions about how the funding will be allocated.

With reference to the letter from NHS England to NHS Trusts of 24 December 2024, for what reasons the radiotherapy machines fund guidelines exclude the cost of updating critical bunker protections.

The £70 million of funding is for new radiotherapy machines. The responsibility for costs relating to other aspects of radiotherapy treatment remains with local systems.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to include the cost of AI products in the funding for updating radiotherapy machines.

The funding for new radiotherapy machines will be used to replace outdated machines, and allocated to trusts using criteria that NHS England has developed. The new machines will support the recovery of cancer waiting times and help ensure that patients have access to the most up-to-date treatments. The £70 million central funding is not intended to replace every machine aged 10 years and older, and the spending on machines remains the responsibility of local systems.There are no plans to extend the 22 January 2025 deadline, nor has the relevant NHS England team received any requests from providers to do so. NHS England is working with providers to ensure they can get applications completed in time.There are no plans for an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to include the cost of artificial intelligence products with this funding.NHS England does not hold any data on the effectiveness of radiotherapy machines relative to the number of doses that they deliver. NHS England has set out a technical specification for linear accelerators with three options that providers need to choose between, however, the technical specification does not make any requirement about the number of fractions to be delivered.

If he will extend the 22 January deadline for NHS Trusts to apply for funding towards new radiotherapy machines.

The funding for new radiotherapy machines will be used to replace outdated machines, and allocated to trusts using criteria that NHS England has developed. The new machines will support the recovery of cancer waiting times and help ensure that patients have access to the most up-to-date treatments. The £70 million central funding is not intended to replace every machine aged 10 years and older, and the spending on machines remains the responsibility of local systems.There are no plans to extend the 22 January 2025 deadline, nor has the relevant NHS England team received any requests from providers to do so. NHS England is working with providers to ensure they can get applications completed in time.There are no plans for an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to include the cost of artificial intelligence products with this funding.NHS England does not hold any data on the effectiveness of radiotherapy machines relative to the number of doses that they deliver. NHS England has set out a technical specification for linear accelerators with three options that providers need to choose between, however, the technical specification does not make any requirement about the number of fractions to be delivered.

Whether additional funding to update radiotherapy machines includes a commitment to renew every machine aged 10 years and older commissioned by the NHS to deliver radiotherapy.

The funding for new radiotherapy machines will be used to replace outdated machines, and allocated to trusts using criteria that NHS England has developed. The new machines will support the recovery of cancer waiting times and help ensure that patients have access to the most up-to-date treatments. The £70 million central funding is not intended to replace every machine aged 10 years and older, and the spending on machines remains the responsibility of local systems.There are no plans to extend the 22 January 2025 deadline, nor has the relevant NHS England team received any requests from providers to do so. NHS England is working with providers to ensure they can get applications completed in time.There are no plans for an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to include the cost of artificial intelligence products with this funding.NHS England does not hold any data on the effectiveness of radiotherapy machines relative to the number of doses that they deliver. NHS England has set out a technical specification for linear accelerators with three options that providers need to choose between, however, the technical specification does not make any requirement about the number of fractions to be delivered.

If NHS England will publish the data it holds on the effectiveness of radiotherapy machines which deliver more doses of radiation; and for what reason guidance on future purchases of radiotherapy machines requires a minimum of 9,000 fractions per annum.

The funding for new radiotherapy machines will be used to replace outdated machines, and allocated to trusts using criteria that NHS England has developed. The new machines will support the recovery of cancer waiting times and help ensure that patients have access to the most up-to-date treatments. The £70 million central funding is not intended to replace every machine aged 10 years and older, and the spending on machines remains the responsibility of local systems.There are no plans to extend the 22 January 2025 deadline, nor has the relevant NHS England team received any requests from providers to do so. NHS England is working with providers to ensure they can get applications completed in time.There are no plans for an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to include the cost of artificial intelligence products with this funding.NHS England does not hold any data on the effectiveness of radiotherapy machines relative to the number of doses that they deliver. NHS England has set out a technical specification for linear accelerators with three options that providers need to choose between, however, the technical specification does not make any requirement about the number of fractions to be delivered.

What his planned timetable is to respond to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's Report entitled End of life care: improving Do Not Attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation conversations f

I have responded to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's March 2024 report entitled End of life care: improving Do Not Attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation conversations (DNACPR), in a letter dated 5 November 2024. In this response, the Depar...

Whether his Department plans to publish the findings of the consultation entitled Improving the experiences of people with ME/CFS: interim delivery plan, published on 9 August 2023.

We are committed to improving the care and support for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. We recognise how devastating the symptoms can be, and the significant impact they can have on patients and their...

Whether the delivery plan for ME/CFS will include measures to improve the safety of NHS care for patients with ME.

No assessment has been made on the impact of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and long COVID on economic growth. However, the Government recognises that long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason f...

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ring-fencing biomedical research funding for ME.

No assessment has been made on the impact of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and long COVID on economic growth. However, the Government recognises that long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason f...

What assessment he has made with the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the potential impact of (a) ME and (b) long covid on economic growth.

No assessment has been made on the impact of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and long COVID on economic growth. However, the Government recognises that long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason f...