Why local government matters in delivering the National Cancer Plan?

When the Government published its new National Cancer Plan, with its ambition that, by 2035, three in four people diagnosed with cancer will be cancer free or living well five years after diagnosis, some observers questioned what this has to do with local government. The question is understandable, yet it highlights a continuing need to explain how profoundly cancer risk, early diagnosis, treatment outcomes and survivorship are shaped by the environments people live in and the local systems that support them. For those working in public health, the connection is obvious: councils influence many of the social, economic and environmental factors that determine cancer outcomes. But the conversation serves as a reminder that this link is not always visible, and that the essential role of local government still needs to be articulated clearly and consistently.

The plan itself is ambitious. It commits to faster diagnosis, quicker treatment and major investment in technology, including robot assisted surgery, digital tools and improved diagnostic capacity. It aims to meet all cancer waiting time standards by 2029 and projects that 320,000 more lives will be saved over the lifetime of the plan. These ambitions rely not only on clinical excellence but also on reaching people earlier, improving prevention and reducing barriers to care.

This is exactly where local government comes in. The LGA has already been clear about the alignment between the plan’s focus and councils’ statutory responsibilities. The plan highlights prevention, early diagnosis and addressing risk factors such as smoking, alcohol and obesity. These are core public health duties delivered locally. Councils shape healthy environments, provide stop smoking services, oversee licensing, run physical activity programmes and work with communities who face the greatest barriers to health. As the LGA notes, tackling these biggest risk factors sits squarely within local government’s remit.

It is also essential to recognise that not every cancer is preventable. There are more than 200 types of cancer, many of them rare or uncommon, and for these conditions lifestyle factors may play little or no role. People living with these cancers often face long diagnostic journeys, complex treatment pathways and significant uncertainty. The National Cancer Plan’s commitment to faster diagnostics, specialist centres and improved access to genomic testing is particularly critical for these groups, who rely on timely referral, clear communication and coordinated support.

This is another reason why local government remains central to the cancer agenda. When treatment is complex and prevention plays a smaller part, the need for strong social care, community support and well coordinated local services becomes even greater. Councils help people navigate daily life during intensive treatment, manage the long term consequences and access practical help that the clinical system alone cannot provide. Rare and less common cancers reinforce the fact that cancer care is never just about hospitals. It is about the whole system around a person, and local government is a vital part of that system.

The National Cancer Plan also emphasises the need for innovation, technology and digital tools to reach every community, including those with the poorest outcomes. Again, councils are critical partners. They are often the organisations with the deepest knowledge of local populations, trusted relationships with community leaders and the capacity to design prevention programmes that reflect real lived experience. The LGA has been explicit that councils are ready to support these ambitions and ensure no community is left behind.

When someone asks what cancer policy has to do with local government, it highlights how often cancer is still viewed purely as a clinical issue. The truth is very different. Four in ten cancer cases are preventable. Major risk factors are shaped by inequalities, environment and behaviour. Early diagnosis depends on awareness, trust and access. Survivorship relies on housing, social support and services that help people live well after treatment. All these determinants sit within the ecosystem local government influences every day.

Local authorities are also central to addressing the disparities the National Cancer Plan seeks to fix. The government acknowledges that cancer survival in Britain still lags behind comparable countries and that performance on waiting time targets must improve. Reducing those gaps requires targeted action in the communities with the worst outcomes, many of which are already the focus of council led health and wellbeing strategies.

One part of the conversation that often goes unnoticed is the role of social care. Cancer is not only a clinical journey but a social one. Many people living with and beyond cancer rely on social care at various stages, whether to remain independent at home, manage the consequences of intensive treatment or receive support at the end of life. These services are not an optional add-on. They are part of the fabric that determines whether someone can truly live well with cancer, which is a core ambition of the National Cancer Plan.

Local authorities already play a central role in ensuring vulnerable adults can access safe, high-quality care. The plan’s emphasis on improving survivorship, reducing inequalities and supporting people beyond their initial treatment depends heavily on social care services that can respond flexibly and compassionately. Councils are the bodies that commission home care, coordinate multi agency support and make sure people have the adaptations, community connections and daily assistance they need to recover or manage long term impacts of cancer.

Local government also has a unique responsibility as the voice of the unheard. Councils work closely with communities who can be overlooked in national policy conversations. They hear from residents who struggle to access screening, who face long travel times to treatment and who may not trust traditional services. They hear from groups whose barriers are shaped by language, stigma or experiences of discrimination and from communities whose outcomes are poorer because of their ethnicity or cultural background. Health inequalities should not be shaped by who you are, where you come from or the community you belong to. Councils are often the only organisations with the legitimacy, relationships into the voluntary and community organisations and local intelligence to challenge these inequities and advocate for those who would otherwise be excluded.

It is not possible to deliver on the ambitions of the plan without councils. They are the connectors between clinical advances and the communities that must benefit from them. They drive prevention, support early diagnosis, and provide the conditions for healthy living. Far from being peripheral, local government is foundational to improving cancer outcomes.

So, when someone asks why local government has a role in a cancer plan, the answer is simple. Because cancer is shaped long before anyone steps into a diagnostic centre. Because prevention can only succeed in the places where people live their lives. And because the ambitions of this plan will only be realised if councils, the NHS and government work as equal partners. That is why it matters to us.

Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor MBE 
Chair, LGA Health and Care Committee

For the LGA’s full response, see our statement on the National Cancer Plan