Main menu For students For teachers Explore our subjects Student events & courses

Explore

More for students
Sign in

Teaching Economics

In the News

Cancer Drugs Fund and Government Fund

Geoff Riley

28th April 2017

Share this content:

A new report on the effectiveness of the Cancer Drug Fund set up in 2010 is pretty scathing and covers many aspects of government failure.

The author of the report Professor Richard Sullivan, from King's College London, described the policy as "policy on the hoof ....Populism doesn't work when you are dealing with complex areas of policy like this. When it was launched it was not monitored properly. It was politically and intellectually lazy."

Supporters of the fund has countered by arguing that spending on experimental drugs gave patients the invaluable benefit of extra months of life.

Revision video on government failure
Share this content:

Geoff Riley

Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for nearly forty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD and Revision conferences in the UK and overseas.

@tutor2uGeoff

You might also like

In the News Teaching Activity – What policies help raise the birth rate in an economy? (June 2026)

25th June 2026

In the News Teaching Activity – Has nationalisation improved South West Railway? (June 2026)

18th June 2026

Micro Case Study: Ofgem and Price Caps

Topical case studies

Why are petrol prices higher and will the price rise last? (Apr 2026)

13th April 2026

Micro Case Study: Fast Fashion

Topical case studies

In the News Teaching Activity – Why is Scotland planning to introduce rent controls? (Feb 2026)

23rd February 2026

In the News Teaching Activity – Why have ads for junk foods been banned? (Jan 2026)

12th January 2026

In the News Teaching Activity – Why is China trying to increase its birth rate? (Jan 2026)

8th January 2026