PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
CANCER RESEARCH UK'S `CANCER 2020' PETITION (16 October 2006)

That this House congratulates Cancer Research UK on securing more than 200,000 signatures to its `Cancer 2020' petition, urging politicians across the UK to plan now for future cancer challenges; notes that the petition's call for an updated NHS Cancer Plan is echoed by a recent King's Fund report; further notes that the King's Fund report, commissioned by Cancer Research UK, welcomed the transformation of cancer services since the 1995 Calman Hine report and the 2000 NHS Cancer Plan; acknowledges that cancer incidence is increasing as the population ages and that better awareness, improved screening, earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment also mean that more people are living longer after a cancer diagnosis; believes that these factors, combined with significant technological and policy changes, are fundamentally altering the cancer landscape; further believes that the Government should take account of these important developments and listen to the more than 200,000 voters who to date have signed the petition at www.cancer2020.org, in Cancer Research UK's 630 shops and at its fundraising events; and calls on the Government to announce, as a matter of urgency, a timeframe for updating the NHS Cancer Plan for beyond 2010 when the current plan ends.

Sponsored by:
Dr Ian Gibson (Labour)