Luke Myer MP pressed Ministers today (5 February 2026) to ensure the Government’s new National Cancer Plan delivers real improvements for communities like Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, as Ministers unveiled ambitions for three in four patients to be cancer-free or living well five years after diagnosis from 2035.

In Parliament, Luke highlighted the campaigning work of local constituents affected by cancer – including Melissa from Guisborough, Georgia from Hemlington, and Peter from Coulby Newham. He asked what assurances Ministers could give that additional resources would reach places like Teesside, where health inequalities have too often translated into poorer outcomes.

The Government’s plan commits to meeting all three cancer waiting-time standards by 2029, investing £2.3 billion in faster diagnostics, expanding community diagnostic centres, rolling out more robot-assisted surgery, and widening access to genomic testing. Ministers say this could save 320,000 lives over the lifetime of the plan.

Responding, Health Minister Ashley Dalton said local campaigners’ voices “run through this plan” and pointed to the positive news recently that James Cook University Hospital received funding for two new LINAC radiotherapy machines. She committed to “working further” with Luke to ensure that “postcode and geography will not get in the way” of treatment.