The mother of a 10-year-old girl who died from a rare form of cancer has criticised the government for “pausing” the work of a group set up to combat the disease in children.
Charlotte Fairall, whose daughter Sophie died in 2021, said the decision was “totally unacceptable”.
The Children and Young People’s Cancer Taskforce was set up in February 2024 following a campaign by Mrs Fairall.
Her daughter was diagnosed with a form of soft tissue cancer just a year before she died, after a tumour was discovered in her abdomen.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the taskforce had been “paused rather than cancelled” as his department looked at the best ways to take issues forward.
Mrs Fairall said the taskforce, which was formed of clinicians, charities and patients groups, had already developed an action plan.
“I think it’s a complete let-down to these children who don’t get a voice and don’t get a say in any of this work.”
She said the decision, which comes in Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, had also been announced at a particularly bad time for her family.
“You couldn’t pick a worse month for us to do it. [September] was the month she was diagnosed and the month she died.
“She fought so damn hard to try and beat this cancer with treatment that she was never going to win against. “
“It just sticks in the back of your throat really….What is it going to take for the government to make children’s cancer a priority? Because it never has been”
Mr Streeting said he has sent his condolences to Mrs Fairall and her family for the “unimaginable pain and grief and loss” they had suffered.
Speaking earlier in the House of Commons, he said he was trying to avoid “a plethora of taskforces and the risk that we’ve sometimes seen….of taskforces being an alternative for action”.
Conservative MP Caroline Dinenage, who chairs the taskforce and campaigned for its creation, said she believed the decision was based on a misunderstanding of what the group does.
She said it had been set up to “deliver urgent change” and that “precious time and momentum” would be “wasted”.
She added “I will be pushing for this vital work to continue.”
The Department for Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.
