The NHS lung cancer screening programme has clear national protocols and quality assurance arrangements to ensure that clinically significant incidental findings are reported, followed up and acted on appropriately to help ensure that patients receive timely assessment and treatment through established NHS pathways.

The targeted screening programme, announced on 2 June 2026 and rolling out in 2027, will screen men between 45 and 61 years old who have a BRCA2 gene variant and a family history of prostate, breast, pancreatic or ovarian cancer. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has assessed that a targeted screening programme for men who meet these criteria is justified on the basis that prostate cancer occurs more often, at a younger age and more aggressively for men in this group than for other men. This means that, for this group, the benefits of early detection and treatment would outweigh the harms associated with overdiagnosis and treatment side effects.

The UK NSC concluded that while we know Black men are twice as likely to be diagnosed with and die from prostate cancer than white men, there is not enough evidence to be confident that screening Black men would do more good than harm. This is because Black men have been historically underrepresented in clinical trials relating to prostate cancer.

That is why the Government is investing up to an additional £18 million in the TRANSFORM trial so that all eligible Black men will be invited to take part in stage 2 of the trial. This investment will help to address long-standing inequalities in risk and outcomes, as well as providing useful insights into the best screening methods that will benefit all men.

The Government has published an equality impact assessment which sets out the potential impact on health inequalities and any mitigations; the assessment is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prostate-cancer-screening-equality-impact-assessment/equality-impact-assessment-introduction-of-a-targeted-prostate-cancer-screening-programme#intended-aims-of-the-programme

The Government is committed to improving cancer screening services in line with the National Cancer Plan and as part of the 10-Year Health Plan’s shift from sickness to prevention.

Later this year, we will start to offer self-testing for human papilloma virus to women who have missed their cervical screening appointments by at least six months. This expansion aims to overcome barriers that stop women from taking up cervical screening which can both prevent and catch cervical cancer early.

This Government is focused on increasing awareness of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people aged under 40 years old by targeting key risk factors for disease through prevention and behavioural change. The National Health Service website includes a Better Health section which offers advice, tools and apps to support small, achievable behavioural changes such as increasing physical activity through the Couch to 5k app and guidance on how to quit smoking. Behavioural support services such as smoking cessation and weight management are also available locally for those who need them.

There is no national CVD screening programme in England for people aged under 40 years old. Cardiovascular risk increases significantly with age, which is why the NHS Health Check is offered to eligible adults aged between 40 and 74 years old. The NHS Health Check is a core component of England’s CVD prevention programme and aims to detect people at risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and kidney disease and refer them to further support through behavioural interventions, clinical assessment and treatment where appropriate.

The Government has announced the introduction of human papilloma virus (HPV) self-testing in the National Health Service cervical screening programme for the under-screened population in England. The NHS has begun planning an in-service evaluation (ISE) of HPV self-testing in the wider population.

The purpose of the ISE is to ensure that the self-test is acceptable, accurate, and feasible compared with a clinician collected specimen, and to evaluate its impact on cervical screening uptake and ensure that the programme continues to prevent the same number of cancers. The findings of the ISE will inform any future UK National Screening Committee recommendation to ministers to offer self-testing across the whole population, alongside clinician-led screening.

From February 2026, the percentage of histopathology cases reported within ten days will be published at national, regional, integrated care board, and National Health Service trust levels. These histopathology cases will include biopsies in the overall figures, but data is not collected by test type.

The Government is committed to eliminating cervical cancer by 2040 through improved uptake of cervical screening and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England.

From early 2026, under-screened women will be offered a home testing kit, starting with those who are the most overdue for screening. This will help tackle deeply entrenched barriers that keep some away from life-saving screening.

New digital services will support screening participants to manage their screening appointments via the NHS App as well as delivering new, artificial intelligence ready services for staff, freeing up their time to focus on care.

NHS England is launching its first ever cervical cancer elimination creative campaign and communications toolkit for Cervical Screening Awareness Week.

We are delivering screening in any primary care setting, including sexual health clinics, rather than just at general practices. This includes evenings and on weekends.

The independent UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which is made up of leading medical and screening experts, advises ministers in all four nations of the United Kingdom on the evidence on screening. They have carried out an evidence review to look at screening for prostate cancer.  Where the committee is confident that screening provides more good than harm, they recommend a screening programme.  Treatment can lead to immediate life changing side effects which need to be balanced against potential benefits some years in the future.

On 28 November 2025, the UK NSC opened a 12-week public consultation on an evidence review to look at screening for prostate cancer and a draft recommendation to:

• offer a targeted national prostate cancer screening programme to men with confirmed BRCA1/2 gene variants every two years, from the age 45 years old to age 61 years old;
• not recommend population screening;
• not recommend targeted screening of black men;
• not recommend targeted screening of men with family history; and
• collaborate with the Transform trial team to answer outstanding questions on screening effectiveness for black men and men with a family history, as soon as trial data becomes available, and await the results of the study to develop and trial a more accurate test than the prostate specific antigen test alone, to improve the balance of the benefits and harms of screening.

Alongside the consultation, work is being carried out to assess the costs and resources required to deliver the possible screening pathway, this could include an assessment of future demand for PSMA PET-CT imaging.

We anticipate that the UK NSC will make a final recommendation on screening for prostate cancer in early 2026. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will consider this and make a decision on whether to accept and next steps at this point.

The Department recognises that access to PSMA PET-CT imaging varies across England and that this may exacerbate existing disparities.

NHS England has introduced a commissioning policy for PSMA PET-CT imaging for patients with high-risk or recurrent prostate cancer, and work is underway to expand capacity and improve resilience in diagnostic services

Tackling health inequalities remains a core priority. Through the Core20PLUS5 framework, NHS England is working to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes. The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will set out further actions to improve early diagnosis and equitable access to cancer services across England.

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) radiotracers are commissioned for use as part of PET-CT prostate cancer imaging, as set out in the published clinical commissioning policy. Access to PET-CT, as with any healthcare service, is closely monitored.

The Asthma Control Test and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test are accessible online for patients to use and the results can be taken to a general practice to help inform an annual assessment or other general practice appointment associated with these conditions.

NHS England is in the process of reprocuring some positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET-CT) services to replace current contracts that are due to expire at the end of March 2027. The geographies covered by the existing contracts will continue to be covered under the new arrangements, so no impact on diagnostic access is expected for patients from Northern Ireland who rely on specialist capacity elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The current arrangements for patients travelling to England for PET-CT and other treatments remains unchanged.

NHS England’s specialised commissioning function commissions positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET-CT) diagnostic services and is responsible for ensuring that there is sufficient capacity across England to meet planned demand. To avoid creating a single point of failure in these services, NHS England has ensured that PET-CT services in England are delivered by a range of different organisations, including National Health Service trusts, the independent sector, and charities, often working in partnership. They help to provide resilience across the system.

NHS England is in the process of reprocuring some PET-CT services to replace current contracts that are due to expire at the end of March 2027. NHS England has recently concluded a round of market engagement on its proposals. NHS England has not yet finalised its proposals for the procurement, as the point of market engagement is to receive feedback and take this into account in the final design.

PET-CT scans use isotopes from a comprehensive network of United Kingdom based cyclotrons. The Government has made up to £520 million available through the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund to support UK manufacture of medicine and medical technology products. This includes applications looking to establish, expand, or improve UK-based manufacture of medical radioisotopes for diagnostic or therapeutic applications.

As of December 2025, community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are now delivering additional tests and checks on 170 sites across the country.

Spirometry with bronchodilator response is a minimum test requirement of all standard and large CDCs. It is therefore expected that all fully operational standard and large CDCs offer this service.

CDC programme funded diagnostic test activity is reported from management information collected monthly. Spirometry test activity is included as part of the ‘other respiratory’ category. 307,866 ‘other respiratory’ tests have been delivered between January 2025 and the end of October 2025, the latest published data. Spirometry is not recorded separately and so individual testing volumes are not held in the format requested. CDC management information, including a list of tests categorised under the ‘other respiratory’ grouping, can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/cdc-management-information/

As of December 2025, community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are now delivering additional tests and checks on 170 sites across the country.

Spirometry with bronchodilator response is a minimum test requirement of all standard and large CDCs. It is therefore expected that all fully operational standard and large CDCs offer this service.

CDC programme funded diagnostic test activity is reported from management information collected monthly. Spirometry test activity is included as part of the ‘other respiratory’ category. 307,866 ‘other respiratory’ tests have been delivered between January 2025 and the end of October 2025, the latest published data. Spirometry is not recorded separately and so individual testing volumes are not held in the format requested. CDC management information, including a list of tests categorised under the ‘other respiratory’ grouping, can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/cdc-management-information/

The cervical screening age in the United Kingdom was officially changed from 20 to 25 years old in 2003. This decision was made by the Advisory Committee on Cervical Cancer Screening which advised the NHS Cervical Screening Programme to raise the starting age due to evidence that screening younger women could do more harm than good. This is because: cervical abnormalities are common in women under 25 years old, but they usually resolve naturally; screening could lead to unnecessary treatments, which carry risks such as increased chances of pre-term delivery; and cervical cancer is extremely rare in women under 25 years old.

Since then, the human papillomavirus vaccination programme has been introduced, which means the vast majority of women under 29 years old have been offered the vaccine that protects against most forms of cervical cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NICE) has published a clinical knowledge summary on osteoporosis and the prevention of fragility fractures, which is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/osteoporosis-prevention-of-fragility-fractures/management/assessment/

If a doctor suspects that a patient has osteoporosis, they can calculate the probability of that individual having a fracture using the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool or the Q-Fracture risk calculator. Further tests, including bone density scans, otherwise known as DEXA scans, can be performed to diagnose or assess risk of osteoporosis.

Fracture liaison services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local needs. Our 10-Year Health Plan is committed to rolling out fracture liaison services across every part of the country by 2030.

The NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England provides all women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64 years old with the opportunity to be screened routinely to detect human papillomavirus (HPV) infection or cervical abnormalities at an early, more treatable stage. The screening test does not look for cancer, but for HPV, which causes nearly all cervical cancers. As it takes approximately ten years for HPV to cause cancerous cells, it is rare for women below the age of 25 years old to develop cervical cancer. This is why the age limit is set as it is.

NHS England launched its first ever cervical cancer elimination creative campaign and communications toolkit for Cervical Screening Awareness Week, which took place between 16 and 24 June 2025. The campaign included digital resources that create a strong sense of shared responsibility and aim to increase awareness of the elimination goal, educate the public, and build confidence in cervical screening.

In March 2025, NHS England published its Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England, setting out how the National Health Service will improve equitable uptake and coverage across cervical screening to meet the goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. NHS England will build on what is already working well to drive vaccination and screening uptake and coverage, focussing on five cross-cutting themes: increasing access; raising awareness; reducing inequalities; improving digital capabilities; and strengthening workforce capacity. Further information on the Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cervical-cancer-elimination-by-2040-plan-for-england/

From early 2026, screening providers in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England will be able to offer HPV self-sampling kits to women if they have not attended their appointment for six months or more following routine invitation.

The NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England provides all women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64 years old with the opportunity to be screened routinely to detect human papillomavirus (HPV) infection or cervical abnormalities at an early, more treatable stage. The screening test does not look for cancer, but for HPV, which causes nearly all cervical cancers. As it takes approximately ten years for HPV to cause cancerous cells, it is rare for women below the age of 25 years old to develop cervical cancer. This is why the age limit is set as it is.

NHS England launched its first ever cervical cancer elimination creative campaign and communications toolkit for Cervical Screening Awareness Week, which took place between 16 and 24 June 2025. The campaign included digital resources that create a strong sense of shared responsibility and aim to increase awareness of the elimination goal, educate the public, and build confidence in cervical screening.

In March 2025, NHS England published its Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England, setting out how the National Health Service will improve equitable uptake and coverage across cervical screening to meet the goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. NHS England will build on what is already working well to drive vaccination and screening uptake and coverage, focussing on five cross-cutting themes: increasing access; raising awareness; reducing inequalities; improving digital capabilities; and strengthening workforce capacity. Further information on the Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cervical-cancer-elimination-by-2040-plan-for-england/

From early 2026, screening providers in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England will be able to offer HPV self-sampling kits to women if they have not attended their appointment for six months or more following routine invitation.