Our Work in Parliament

APPG Officers

Working within Parliament, Officers are elected on a yearly basis by their fellow Parliamentarians. Led by the Chair of the APPG, Rebecca Harris MP, Officers oversee the Group’s activities and promote the issues of the brain tumour community across Parliament and beyond.

APPG Committee

Rebecca Harris MP - Chair
Lord Carlile of Berriew - Vice Chair
Kevin Brennan MP - Vice Chair
Mark Durkan MP - Vice Chair
Caroline Ansell MP - Honorary Secretary

“Whilst some types of cancer are seeing improvements in treatment and survival rates, the same cannot be said for brain tumour patients.

Just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. Many people still do not know that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.

I am honoured to work alongside fellow Parliamentarians in championing the need to fund the fight and see more lives saved.”
- Rebecca Harris MP

APPG Members

MPs and Lords are able to support our campaign for a cure by signing up to our APPG mailing list and getting involved with our activities. 

MPs currently working with us:

• Andrea Jenkyns MP (Con, Morely and Outwood)
• Helen Jones MP (Lab, Warrington North)
• James Cartlidge MP (Con, South Suffolk)
• Mark Durkan MP (SDLP, Foyle)
• The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP (Lib Dem, Orkney and Shetland)
• Caroline Ansell MP (Con, Eastbourne and Wallington)
• Iain Stewart MP (Con, Milton Keynes South)
• John Baron MP (Con, Basildon and Billericay)
• Kevin Brennan MP (Lab, Cardiff West)
• Kevin Foster MP (Con, Torbay)
• Dr Philippa Whitford (SNP, Central Ayrshire)
• Phil Wilson MP (Lab, Sedgefield)
• The Rt Hon Norman Lamb MP (Lib Dem, North Norfolk)
• Rushanara Ali MP (Lab, Bethnal Green and Bow)
• Stephen Pound MP (Lab, Ealing North)
• The Baroness Masham of Ilton (Crossbench)
• The Lord Carlile of Berriew (Lib Dem)
• The Rt Hon Tom Brake MP (Lib Dem, Carshalton and Wallington)
• Yvonne Fovargue MP (Lab, Makerfield)

If your MP isn't listed above, please ask them to get involved.

APPG Meetings

APPG members meet throughout the parliamentary calendar to discuss current policy issues, hear from expert speakers and listen to members of the brain tumour community.

Summary of most recent APPG Meeting – 14th December 2016

The Government convened a Task and Finish Working Group on brain tumour research after a Westminster Hall debate. The Group met for the first time in October 2016, to discuss the barriers and opportunities open to stakeholders. APPG members heard presentations from Department of Health, clinical and research experts.

APPG Briefings to Parliamentarians

In support of APPG members, MPs and Peers across Parliament, we publish briefings tailored to each meeting’s specific policy issue.

These documents inform MPs and other activists of the latest developments in our campaigning.

Download your copy of each briefing using the links below:

March 2017 - Taking a lead in building capacity for brain tumour research 

December 2016 – Accelerating the rate of progress in brain tumour research

July 2016 – Tackling the historic underfunding of brain tumour research

APPG Secretariat

The Secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours is provided by Brain Tumour Research. The Secretariat retains the services of PB Consulting for secretarial support, while The Brain Tumour Charity also assists in secretariat functions.

This is not an official website or feed of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues.

The views expressed in these webpages are those of the group.

How the House of Commons petitions process works

Once a member of the public creates a petition on the Parliamentary website it will stay open for six months, as long as it is approved. If a petition attracts 10,000 signatures, the Government will issue a response.

Should a petition reach 100,000 signatures, the Petitions Committee will consider the petition for debate in Parliament. Debates involve constituency MPs giving speeches as well as statements from a Government Minister and a member of the Official Opposition. Members of the public can request to watch, but are not permitted to speak in the debate.

Live petitions

Petitions about brain tumour research are created and driven by our supporters and activists. If you would like to set up a petition, please contact our Public Affairs & Campaigning team on campaigning@braintumourresearch.org or call us on 01908 867200 and we’ll be happy to help you set it up and maximise awareness and success for your petition.

Whilst we welcome the additional exposure that campaigning on platforms such as Avaaz, 38 Degrees, Change.org etc can bring, we focus our resources on challenging the Government only via official Parliamentary e-petitions. 

There are currently no live Parliamentary petitions about brain tumours.