This week we have been monitoring the new ministerial appointments made at Westminster. Of course there are two particular Government departments we are interested in, Health and Science. As predicted in last week's update Wes Streeting is our new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care but, as yet, the ministerial responsibility for cancer that was held by Will Quince and then Andrew Stephenson in the previous administration, has yet to be announced.
Over at Science, Innovation and Technology the new Secretary of State is Peter Kyle but the new minister, coming into a post previously held by our great ally George Freeman, is not an MP but physician, scientist, clinical pharmacologist and former Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.
This appears an inspired choice and as George put on his LinkedIn page: "I couldn’t have hoped for a better successor."
We are really looking forward to engaging with Sir Patrick
Any engagement that we can help facilitate for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours (APPGBT) will now, no longer, involve the group's Chair for the past seven years Derek Thomas. As he sits this Parliament out we wanted to note our thanks, and we believe the thanks of the UK brain tumour community, and send them to Derek. He was a loyal and passionate advocate on our behalf and we will miss him.
In Derek's former constituency of St Ives the standing MP is now Russell George.
Other members of the APPGBT not to seek, or not to gain, election were:
Virendra Sharma in Ealing, Southall, where the seat is now held by Deirdre Costigan
Holly Mumby-Croft in Scunthorpe, where the seat is now held by Nic Dakin
Caroline Ansell in Eastbourne, where the seat is now held by Josh Babarinde
Mark Pawsey in Rugby where the seat is now held by John Slinger
Peter Aldous in Lowestoft where the seat is now held by Jess Asato
Iain Stewart in Buckingham and Bletchley where the seat is now held by Callum Anderson
Ben Everitt in Milton Keynes North where the seat is now held by Chris Curtis
Please could I ask that campaigners in these seats reach out to their new MPs, using a version of this template email, and asking if they are going to continue the fine work of their predecessor in supporting the APPGBT.
Last week Thomas joined a Medical Research Showcase Event, in Wales, organised by the Cross-Party Group on Medical Research and sponsored by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).
The Showcase Event, at the Senedd, provided an opportunity to engage with Members of the Senedd (MS) and charity colleagues to talk about the research we fund in Wales and to explore pathways towards achieving better outcomes for Welsh brain tumour patients.
We were joined by Dr Ben Newland who leads the “Materials for Neuroscience” research group at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Cardiff University. His research, which we co-fund in partnership with the Medical Research Council (MRC), focuses on creating soft, implantable biomaterials for delivering drugs and other therapeutics (such as proteins and cells) to the brain.
Also joining us was our supporter Rhys Holmes from Newport South Wales, who was just eight when he was diagnosed with a grade 1 pilocytic astrocytoma.
Together we spoke to David Rees MS, Chair of the Cross-Party Group on Cancer about Dr Newland’s research, and the need to declare brain tumours a clinical priority to enable research to become game-changing across the translational pipeline. John Griffiths MS was really interested to hear about his constituent’s (Rhys) brain tumour story and Mike Hedges MS also dropped by for updates on Brain Tumour Research’s work.
David Rees MS said: “It is critical that we see the benefits of research for our constituents.” He added: “Everything you do makes our lives better. Research saves lives, and every pound invested in research generates multiple returns. Not just returns in terms of money, but also returns in outcomes.”
Post event Thomas said: “It was a pleasure to attend the event, alongside Ben and Rhys, to celebrate the research already happening, and to encourage more, much needed, research in the field of brain tumours. "
Next Friday the campaigning update will come from The British Neuro-Oncology Society (BNOS) Annual Conference which is being held in Cambridge.
We will be asking researchers and clinicians what their asks of the new Government are and working hard to take these forward with the new appointments mentioned at the beginning of the update as we all seek to improve the situation for those diagnosed with a brain tumour and for their families.
Wishing you all a peaceful time until then.
Hugh and Thomas