The Government should cut VAT on high-factor sun cream in an effort to tackle rates of skin cancer, according to the Liberal Democrats. The party claims making high-factor protective sunscreens exempt from VAT would make them more affordable, and therefore increase their use. They are also advocating for a broader package to cut cancer treatment times including recruiting more cancer nurses.
Data provided from 49 NHS hospital trusts asking for the number of patients on waiting lists for skin cancer treatment and a breakdown of how long patients waited to start treatment, found many patients were waiting longer than the 62-day standard to start treatment. One patient at Norwich and Norfolk NHS Trust was left waiting 345 days following an urgent referral for treatment. Lib Dem deputy leader and health spokesperson Daisy Cooper said the state of cancer services in the UK “is shocking and tragic”.
She said: “We are seeing people up and down the country left waiting far too long for the care they need. This recent hot weather should serve as a stark reminder that skin cancer services are in desperate need of support and the staggering increase in referrals shows we must do more to prevent people from getting skin cancer in the first place. “That means making it affordable for people to protect themselves from skin cancer by cutting VAT on high-factor protective sunscreen and securing a public commitment from major retailers that they will pass on the financial benefit to c.