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Cervical Cancer Screening

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I will come shortly to the important issue that he raises. Women under 25 who are concerned about their risk of developing cervical cancer or concerned about their sexual health should contact their GP or their genito-urinary medicine clinic and go for screening. Clinicians will refer women under 25 who have symptoms of cervical cancer for other more appropriate tests, and women with suspected cancer should be seen by a specialist within two weeks. My hon. Friend mentioned our HPV vaccination programme, which we are proud of. Cervical screening is not our only strategy for tackling this dreadful disease. The HPV vaccination programme, which protects against two strains of HPV that cause more than 70 per cent. of cases of cervical cancer, commenced in September 2008 for young girls aged 12 and 13. The national vaccination programme against HPV has been extended to offer protection to an additional 300,000 girls aged 17 and 18 from September this year. A catch-up programme will commence in September 2009 and will offer the vaccine to other older girls aged 13 to 18. The introduction of the vaccine will help reduce the number of tragic cases like that of Claire, whom we are discussing tonight. I want to reassure my hon. Friend that the evidence has to be looked at again. Yes, everything that he has raised in the debate tonight has to be looked at again. Jo's Trust was mentioned. If my hon. Friend feels that that is important, I would want to include any work that Jo's Trust has done and any evidence it has produced.