Sophie's Legacy: Gosport MP announced as the Chair of a Government Taskforce following years of campaigning

The new taskforce has been established in order to improve detection, treatment, and care for children with cancer. This comes after years of dedication from Charlotte Fairall, the founder of Sophie's Legacy, and the MP for Gosport. In September 2020, Charlotte’s daughter Sophie was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and tragically passed away a year later, at just 10 years old.

 Charlotte met with Caroline ten days after Sophie‘s death, and together they held meetings with experts on a range of subjects from Genomics to paediatric oncology, to gather information about the issues and the solutions. In January 2022 Caroline raised the matter in Prime Minster’s Questions and in April 2022 she secured the first ever childhood cancer debate in the House of Commons.

Caroline and Charlotte have met with various Health Secretaries proposing a Childhood Cancer Mission developed by as Taskforce that would include scientists, researchers, oncologists, charities, parents, with a goal to create a Children and Young People’s Cancer Plan. In September 2023 Caroline raised the Childhood Cancer Mission with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Caroline said: “Sophie’s story profoundly touched the hearts of local people, and it’s been such an honour to work with Charlotte on our mission to improve the way we detect, treat, and care for children with cancer.

“Our journey together has taken us from Gosport to the heart of Government, and I’m delighted that the Health Secretary has given us this once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring together experts from across the sector to drive the changes we want to see.

“It’s an honour to be asked to chair the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce, bringing together key figures who can make progress across three key areas; genomics, detection and diagnosis, and research and innovation. I hope that my knowledge and experience will provide the leadership that this important issue deserves.”

The new Taskforce will be launching today and it will unite top clinicians, leading cancer charities, and the Government, with the common goal of saving lives and reducing the long-term impacts of cancer.

 Charlotte Fairall said: “Through the collaborative efforts of Dame Caroline Dinenage and myself, we have tirelessly pursued meaningful change for children and young people battling cancer. In memory of my daughter, Sophie Fairall, whose courageous spirit and heartfelt bucket list ignited our mission, we've worked diligently over the past two and a half years to transform her dreams into impactful change.

 “We're hopeful this task force will spark the vital changes needed for children like Sophie to survive cancer and lead fulfilling lives free from the burdens of treatment impacts.”

The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce’s areas of focus will include DNA testing and treatment, detection and diagnosis and investment in research and innovation. The new areas of focus will ultimately give children the best chance to beat cancer by receiving an earlier diagnosis and innovative treatment.

Sophie's Legacy was established in honour of Sophie after she died, and Charlotte has been paving the way for a better future for children with cancer. The charity offers pizza nights in hospitals across the South to give them something to look forward to and families can now also access emergency packs in hospitals if their child is rushed into hospital. Charlotte has also helped families financially and with transport to hospitals and overall, the charity has helped so many people since it was founded.

For more information about Sophie's Legacy, click here.