People with cancer will benefit from stronger national leadership to improve diagnosis, treatment and care, thanks to a reformed National Cancer Board, which met for the first time very recently.
It will scrutinise progress against more than 100 commitments in the National Cancer Plan - including early diagnosis, treatment and quality of life - identifying which areas are falling behind and advising ministers on where further action is needed to ensure every patient receives the best possible care.
The board – which met for the first time on 21 September - will have dedicated expert leads for rare cancers, including brain tumours, children and young people with cancer, and inequalities in cancer care. It builds on the government’s progress to improve cancer care, with all three cancer standards better than a year ago and around 250,000 more people over the last year getting diagnosed on time or having cancer ruled out, compared with the year before the election.
Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Most families are affected by cancer at some point in our lives. That is why our National Cancer Plan is so important to provide earlier diagnosis, more advanced treatment and improve outcomes for everyone affected by cancer. The newly established, independent National Cancer Board will help scrutinise our progress, identify the areas that need most attention, and ensure the voice of cancer patients is constantly heard. I look forward to working with Anita Charlesworth and her team to deliver the change that every person in our country wants to see, and from which millions of our loved ones will benefit in the years to come.”
Independent co-chair Anita Charlesworth will lead the board alongside Mark Cubbon - from NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care - giving patients and the public confidence that progress is being properly scrutinised and held to account.
She will be joined by:
- Dr Rob Metcalf, clinical lead for rare cancers
- Dr Dianne Addei, lead for inequalities
- Ashley Ball-Gamble, lead for children and young people’s cancers.
The board will meet every quarter and will publish an annual assessment of progress, with a more detailed review after three years to identify where the plan needs to be strengthened or refreshed.
Anita Charlesworth, independent co-chair of the National Cancer Board, said: “Half of us will be diagnosed with cancer during our lives, so this matters profoundly to patients and families right across the country.
The National Cancer Plan is rightly ambitious, and this board will maintain a relentless focus on earlier diagnosis and making sure innovation reaches every patient, no matter who they are or where they live.
I look forward to working with my fellow members to ensure the National Cancer Board is a force for progress.
The National Cancer Plan, published in February 2026, set out the government’s ambition for three quarters of people diagnosed with cancer to be cancer-free or living well five years after diagnosis by 2035. Alongside improving cancer care performance, the government has also begun rolling out key commitments from the plan, including expanding access to lung cancer screening, expanding Community Diagnostic Centres, improving access to cutting-edge treatments and research, and strengthening support for children and young people, people living with and beyond cancer, and those with rare cancers.
The government has also delivered world-leading action on prevention through the Tobacco and Vapes Act which will create the first smoke-free generation, alongside targeted screening programmes and expanded access to advanced radiotherapy.