The National Cancer Plan, published in February 2026, aims to achieve its objectives by getting more from the resources already in the system, improving productivity, and modernising services to deliver better outcomes for patients.

The Plan is backed by significant funding committed by the Government at the Spending Review, including but not limited to a £2.3 billion investment in diagnostics to deliver an additional 9.5 million tests by 2029, over £650 million to complete the roll out of lung cancer screening by 2030, £70 million for new radiotherapy machines, and £200 million of ring-fenced funding for cancer alliances in 2026/27, to improve performance and early diagnosis. The plan also includes a £10 million fund to support children and young people with cancer and their families with travel costs.

Further decisions about the funding and provision of health services are the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) who are funded by NHS England. ICBs are responsible for commissioning healthcare which best meets the needs of their local populations, including workforce expansion, equipment replacement, and pathway redesign.

On 30 January 2025, NHS England published the guidance Standardising community health services, specifically codifying core services, which is available the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/standardising-community-health-services/

Community health services cover a diverse range of healthcare delivery, and the guidance supports improved commissioning and delivery of community healthcare services. Codifying community health services will help to better assess demand and capacity and will help commissioners make investment choices as they design neighbourhood health provision that shifts care to community based settings.

This publication is available for designing, commissioning, and delivering community health services, including neighbourhood health. Integrated care boards and their partners should consider the core components to support demand and capacity assessment and planning with providers, and should ensure the best use of funding to meet local needs and priorities.

Equipment such as wheelchair services, orthotics, and prosthetics for both adults and children and young people are core components of community health services and are refenced in the guidance.

Local National Health Service organisations have access to a wide range of procurement routes, but the Government has put in place a range of initiatives to help NHS bodies make informed choices about the products and the route through which they are bought. These include the NHS Supply Chain, a national body which is responsible for procuring and delivering the majority of consumables, equipment, and other supplies into the NHS. The NHS Supply Chain was set up to leverage the collective buying power of the NHS, to drive savings and provide a standardised range of clinically assured quality products at the best value.

The Priority Review programme is not currently planned, but the Government is taking other significant steps for medical device regulatory reform, as part of a broader Medical Technology Strategy. Further information on the Medical Technology Strategy is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/medical-technology-strategy/medical-technology-strategy

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating medical devices, and designates United Kingdom Approved Bodies to conduct conformity assessments against the relevant regulatory requirements. The MHRA works closely with Approved Bodies to ensure their timely assessment.

Following a consultation on the future regulation of medical devices in 2021, the MHRA is leading a programme of work to introduce updated regulations for medical devices that prioritise patient safety, improve patient access to innovative medical devices, and ensure the UK remains an attractive market for medical technology innovators. In January of this year, the MHRA published a MedTech Regulatory roadmap that sets out the main activities in implementing the future regulations throughout 2024 and 2025. An international recognition framework for medical devices will form part of the future regulatory framework, which will provide an alternative route to the UK’s market, by leveraging approvals from comparable international regulators. The MHRA aims to publish an outline of the International Recognition Framework for medical devices later this spring, aligned to the Life Sciences Council, subject to necessary approvals.

In addition, the MHRA is leading the reform of the medical devices regulatory landscape and includes a new pathway to accelerate access to safe, innovative medical devices to help meet the unmet needs of patients. The Innovative Devices Access Pathway aims to bring new medical technologies and solutions to the National Health Service, to support the medical needs that are not currently being met. There are eight innovative medical technologies included in the pilot phase.

We are working alongside others to further the Life Sciences Vision, particularly improving regulation and regulatory processes around medical devices, and supporting broader ambitions in the vision aligned to the conditions set out in the Major Conditions Strategy. As we work to update the medical devices regulatory landscape, the MHRA is taking the Major Conditions Strategy into consideration, including the six groups of major health conditions.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is not a regulator but makes recommendations for the NHS on whether selected medical devices should be routinely adopted by the NHS, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. Medical devices are prioritised for the NICE’s evaluation, in line with NICE’s published topic selection manual.

The Priority Review programme is not currently planned, but the Government is taking other significant steps for medical device regulatory reform, as part of a broader Medical Technology Strategy. Further information on the Medical Technology Strategy is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/medical-technology-strategy/medical-technology-strategy

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating medical devices, and designates United Kingdom Approved Bodies to conduct conformity assessments against the relevant regulatory requirements. The MHRA works closely with Approved Bodies to ensure their timely assessment.

Following a consultation on the future regulation of medical devices in 2021, the MHRA is leading a programme of work to introduce updated regulations for medical devices that prioritise patient safety, improve patient access to innovative medical devices, and ensure the UK remains an attractive market for medical technology innovators. In January of this year, the MHRA published a MedTech Regulatory roadmap that sets out the main activities in implementing the future regulations throughout 2024 and 2025. An international recognition framework for medical devices will form part of the future regulatory framework, which will provide an alternative route to the UK’s market, by leveraging approvals from comparable international regulators. The MHRA aims to publish an outline of the International Recognition Framework for medical devices later this spring, aligned to the Life Sciences Council, subject to necessary approvals.

In addition, the MHRA is leading the reform of the medical devices regulatory landscape and includes a new pathway to accelerate access to safe, innovative medical devices to help meet the unmet needs of patients. The Innovative Devices Access Pathway aims to bring new medical technologies and solutions to the National Health Service, to support the medical needs that are not currently being met. There are eight innovative medical technologies included in the pilot phase.

We are working alongside others to further the Life Sciences Vision, particularly improving regulation and regulatory processes around medical devices, and supporting broader ambitions in the vision aligned to the conditions set out in the Major Conditions Strategy. As we work to update the medical devices regulatory landscape, the MHRA is taking the Major Conditions Strategy into consideration, including the six groups of major health conditions.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is not a regulator but makes recommendations for the NHS on whether selected medical devices should be routinely adopted by the NHS, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. Medical devices are prioritised for the NICE’s evaluation, in line with NICE’s published topic selection manual.

The Priority Review programme is not currently planned, but the Government is taking other significant steps for medical device regulatory reform, as part of a broader Medical Technology Strategy. Further information on the Medical Technology Strategy is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/medical-technology-strategy/medical-technology-strategy

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating medical devices, and designates United Kingdom Approved Bodies to conduct conformity assessments against the relevant regulatory requirements. The MHRA works closely with Approved Bodies to ensure their timely assessment.

Following a consultation on the future regulation of medical devices in 2021, the MHRA is leading a programme of work to introduce updated regulations for medical devices that prioritise patient safety, improve patient access to innovative medical devices, and ensure the UK remains an attractive market for medical technology innovators. In January of this year, the MHRA published a MedTech Regulatory roadmap that sets out the main activities in implementing the future regulations throughout 2024 and 2025. An international recognition framework for medical devices will form part of the future regulatory framework, which will provide an alternative route to the UK’s market, by leveraging approvals from comparable international regulators. The MHRA aims to publish an outline of the International Recognition Framework for medical devices later this spring, aligned to the Life Sciences Council, subject to necessary approvals.

In addition, the MHRA is leading the reform of the medical devices regulatory landscape and includes a new pathway to accelerate access to safe, innovative medical devices to help meet the unmet needs of patients. The Innovative Devices Access Pathway aims to bring new medical technologies and solutions to the National Health Service, to support the medical needs that are not currently being met. There are eight innovative medical technologies included in the pilot phase.

We are working alongside others to further the Life Sciences Vision, particularly improving regulation and regulatory processes around medical devices, and supporting broader ambitions in the vision aligned to the conditions set out in the Major Conditions Strategy. As we work to update the medical devices regulatory landscape, the MHRA is taking the Major Conditions Strategy into consideration, including the six groups of major health conditions.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is not a regulator but makes recommendations for the NHS on whether selected medical devices should be routinely adopted by the NHS, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. Medical devices are prioritised for the NICE’s evaluation, in line with NICE’s published topic selection manual.

The future medical devices regime is an overhaul of the current regulatory framework, aimed at improving safety and incorporating measures to encourage innovation and offer alternative routes to market. This includes domestic assurance, which will allow an abridged assessment with the appropriate scrutiny and United Kingdom approved bodies can reject applications under the domestic assurance route if the evidence provided is insufficiently robust. A number of countries will be considered for the domestic assurance route, including the United States of America.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is working to build closer partnerships with global regulators and has established full membership of the International Medical Device Regulations Forum (IMDRF) and is an official observer of the Medical Devices Single Audit Programme (MDSAP), of which the US Food and Drug Administration is a member. The MHRA is engaging with the FDA within international fora and on a bilateral basis.

The transitional arrangements for medical devices are intended to minimise the risks to access for patients in the UK and facilitate the transition between the current and new regulatory framework whilst supporting the ongoing safe supply of essential medical devices. CE marked devices under the new European Union regulations will continue to be placed onto the UK market when the new regime comes into force for up to a period of five years, with a view to review this provision at the end of the five-year period. It is not anticipated that an extension of this provision will be required, as the intervening period will be used to support an increase in approved body capacity to ensure the UK has sufficient capacity to transition all medical devices to the UKCA marking system. The MHRA will work with international regulators to place the UKCA marking for medical devices on a global standing.

The future medical devices regime is an overhaul of the current regulatory framework, aimed at improving safety and incorporating measures to encourage innovation and offer alternative routes to market. This includes domestic assurance, which will allow an abridged assessment with the appropriate scrutiny and United Kingdom approved bodies can reject applications under the domestic assurance route if the evidence provided is insufficiently robust. A number of countries will be considered for the domestic assurance route, including the United States of America.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is working to build closer partnerships with global regulators and has established full membership of the International Medical Device Regulations Forum (IMDRF) and is an official observer of the Medical Devices Single Audit Programme (MDSAP), of which the US Food and Drug Administration is a member. The MHRA is engaging with the FDA within international fora and on a bilateral basis.

The transitional arrangements for medical devices are intended to minimise the risks to access for patients in the UK and facilitate the transition between the current and new regulatory framework whilst supporting the ongoing safe supply of essential medical devices. CE marked devices under the new European Union regulations will continue to be placed onto the UK market when the new regime comes into force for up to a period of five years, with a view to review this provision at the end of the five-year period. It is not anticipated that an extension of this provision will be required, as the intervening period will be used to support an increase in approved body capacity to ensure the UK has sufficient capacity to transition all medical devices to the UKCA marking system. The MHRA will work with international regulators to place the UKCA marking for medical devices on a global standing.