SURVIVAL rates for cancer hit deprived communities hardest in Wales, according to a new Senedd committee report today.

A report from the auditor general looking into cancer services around the country found the gap for five-year-survival rates to be widening between the most affluent and the poorest areas.

It found that 69 per cent of people diagnosed with cancer who live in richer communities survive the illness past five years, while only 51 per cent do in more deprived parts of the country.

The Senedd’s public accounts and public administration committee said the inequalities highlight the unequal access to care around Wales, including timely diagnosis, treatment and variations in services between health boards.

It also sounded the alarm over the health services’ failure to meet the government’s 62-day target to begin cancer treatment after diagnosis.

The latest official data for November 2025 showed that only 58 per cent of treatment started before that goal, falling short of the government’s promise to do so in at least 75 per cent of cases.

Committee chair Mark Isherwood MS said: “Cancer patients and their families deserve better than the level of performance we are seeing in Wales.

“The Welsh government has set the national vision for cancer care, and it must now show far stronger leadership to deliver it.

“Waiting times remain unacceptable, inequalities are widening and essential reforms are progressing far too slowly.”

He called on the government to deal with the matter “urgently — because without decisive national leadership, cancer outcomes in Wales will continue to fall short of what patients rightly expect and deserve.”

A spokesperson for the Welsh government said: “We are working with the NHS to improve cancer care, including earlier access to diagnosis and treatment. Cancer is one of the most common causes of illness and death in Wales – there is more to do to prevent cancer and learn through research.

“We have invested tens of millions of pounds in new cancer facilities, equipment, digital systems, workforce training, treatments, screening and diagnostic services. We support health boards to improve cancer waiting times as part of our £2m Cancer Recovery Programme, which is changing how services are delivered to improve access.”