Policy paper

National Cancer Plan for England

Details the government’s plan to transform cancer care and outcomes in England by 2035.

• From: Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England
• Published: 4 February 2026
• Last updated: 15 September 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 15 September 2026

     Updated both the HTML and PDF versions of the National Cancer Plan to correct the wording in a sentence from 'allowing 27,500 more patients to receive treatment annually' to 'allowing 27,500 more treatments annually'. A correction slip in the PDF version details this change in full.

  2. 20 April 2026

     Updated to include a revised PDF of 'The National Cancer Plan for England: delivering world class cancer care' to change the wording in a sentence from 'no one born on or after 1 January 2009 will be able to legally buy tobacco' to 'no one born on or after 1 January 2009 will be able to be legally sold tobacco'. A correction slip details this change in full. Also added 'The National Cancer Plan for England: delivering world class cancer care (accessible version)'.

  3. 26 February 2026

     Updated to include a revised PDF of 'The National Cancer Plan for England: delivering world class cancer care', with a correction slip explaining the changes since first publication. These changes have been made to the published PDF.

  4. 4 February 2026

     First published.

This was published under the 2024 to 2026 Starmer Labour government

Applies to England

Documents

National Cancer Plan for England: delivering world class cancer care

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-6173-7, CP 1500

PDF, 4.73 MB, 87 pages

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The National Cancer Plan for England: delivering world class cancer care (accessible version)

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-6173-7, CP 1500

HTML

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Details

The National Cancer Plan sets out how we will improve cancer care so that 3 out of 4 people diagnosed with cancer survive for 5 years or more by 2035.

The plan has been shaped by an extensive call for evidence exercise, held from 4 February to 29 April 2025. The more than 11,000 responses received have played an essential role in developing the plan.