Yesterday (Tuesday 10th September), in Portcullis House, the inaugural meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours (APPGBT) for this Parliament was held and the group can now be registered. With our past Chair Derek Thomas no longer an MP, we are thrilled to announce that Dame Siobhain McDonagh is the new Chair of the group. She will be supported by MPs Sarah Owen and Mims Davies, as well as Lord Polak, who were elected Officers of the group. The membership of the group consists of more than 20 Parliamentarians, all committed to making a difference for brain tumour patients.
The meeting yesterday was largely procedural and Brain Tumour Research is proud to be able to resume our role as provider of the secretariat. However, plans were laid for future meetings with a list of influential stakeholders the group would like to hear from discussed, as they search to improve options and outcomes for brain tumour patients.
Dame Siobhain, whose sister Margaret died from a glioblastoma (GBM) last year, told us: “As an MP, and as a sister who has campaigned for a pathway to better, kinder treatments for UK brain tumour patients – and of course for there to be more of them, I am very happy to take up this position as Chair of the APPGBT. With this position comes a real sense of wanting to drive things forward, to make change and to do things differently. Where we are currently isn’t good enough and as Chair, alongside our Officers and Members, our group is determined to deliver real impact. Our mission is too important not to.”
(Pictured left to right: Zubir Ahmed MP, Tom Rutland MP, Helena Dollimore MP, Monica Harding MP, Siobhain McDonagh MP, Deirdre Costigan MP and John McDonnell MP).
Related reading:
Published Wednesday 11th September 2024.