Since 2013 local authorities in England have been legally responsible for commissioning the NHS Health Check programme as set out in the Local Authorities Functions Regulations 2013. The Government’s Public Health Grant to local authorities is used to enable its provision, with general practice being the most frequently commissioned by local authorities to provide the service.

The NHS Health Check provides a mechanism for supporting primary care in achieving several Quality and Outcomes Framework indicators.

There are currently no plans to further incentivise the delivery of NHS Health Checks.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for ensuring that people with high cholesterol or an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) receive treatment in line with recommended targets. Published on 7 July 2026, the CVD Modern Service Framework identifies improved cholesterol detection and management, for people with and without existing CVD, among the 12 priorities supporting the Government’s ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade.

For each of the priorities, it brings together national standards, key metrics, and delivery ambitions over three and 10 year horizons to drive implementation locally and narrow variation across the country.

ICBs are responsible for identifying and managing inherited lipid conditions, including familial hypercholesterolaemia, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance and with support from national genetic testing services.

The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening program currently invites people aged 56 to 74 years old for a screening every two years. However, this age cohort is being expanded to people aged 50 to 74 years old in 2025, with the use of Faecal Immunochemical Test kits which can be sent directly to people's homes.

Furthermore, the National Health Service is prioritising the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres, with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics, including for those with bowel cancer.

The Department does not hold the data at an integrated care board level, however, data for the number of lower gastrointestinal referrals, at a practice level, with a Faecal Immunochemical Test attached, is publicly available through the Investment and Impact Fund. It can be found in the monthly data by the following codes: CAN03; and CAN04.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed screening for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in people under 39 years old in 2019 and concluded that screening should not be offered. More information on the review is available at the following link:

https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/

Research showed that current tests are not accurate enough to use in young people without symptoms, and that treatments and interventions were not based on good scientific evidence to prevent SCD.

To stop SCDs in young people, the current consensus is to focus on rapid identification and care of people who are likely to be at risk of SCD due to a family link or because they have had symptoms, and to train people to carry out cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and to use defibrillators.

NHS England has published guidance for inherited cardiac conditions which requires services to investigate patients with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease, suggestive symptoms or from families with sudden unexplained deaths. Where a genetic variation is identified, cascade testing is offered to relatives based on risk.

We are aware that the UK NSC has received a submission via its annual call process to consider SCD screening in young people aged between 14 and 35 years old engaging in sport. The UK NSC is currently reviewing all annual call proposals. More information on the annual call process is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-nsc-annual-call-submitting-a-screening-proposal/uk-nsc-annual-call-how-to-submit-a-proposal

NHS England has published a suite of national service specifications and standards for Paediatric Cardiac Services, which define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of congenital cardiac problems in young people, with congenital heart disease constituting the bulk of paediatric cardiac cases. The specifications and standards cover all Paediatric Cardiac activity, including surgery and cardiology, taking place in the Specialist Children’s Surgical Centres, Specialist Children’s Cardiology Centres, and Local Children's Cardiac Centres, including activity undertaken by the Specialist Centres on an outreach basis where it is delivered as part of a provider network, with the aim of ensuring all patient care is of a consistent high quality.

NHS England has also published a national service specification for Inherited Cardiac Conditions (ICC), which covers young adults. The aim of ICC services is to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of patients with inherited cardiac conditions. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification, working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of the review, including clinical experts in the National Health Service, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice and the British Heart Foundation.

The Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme also sets out standards for antenatal screening by ultrasound of serious congenital abnormalities, including which abnormalities should be screened for and expected detection rates, with 68% of serious abnormalities detected antenatally.

No assessment has been made.

The UK National Screening committee (UK NSC) has not considered the BRAF mutation as part of the bowel cancer screening programme. However, the UK NSC remains open to any suggestions that could improve screening programmes and these can be submitted through the UK NSC website during their three-month annual call for topics.

Improving referral rates are an essential part of delivering our goal to improve cancer survival rates and show that our efforts to encourage people to come forward, including the ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign, are working. For bowel cancer, the campaign urged people to take up the new home testing kit and have extended the screening offer to those aged 50-74 to ensure more people are diagnosed with bowel cancer at the earliest stage.

No assessment has been made on the link between iron anaemia and colorectal cancer for national screening purposes. Colorectal cancer is more common in people over the age of 50, but it can affect people of any age. To identify patients who have symptoms that do not align to a particular type of tumour, including for non-specific symptoms of colorectal cancer, the National Health Service has implemented ‘non-specific symptom pathways’. There are 103 pathways currently in place with the aim to have national coverage by March 2024.

To encourage people to see their general practitioner if they notice symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England runs the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaigns, which address the barriers that deter patients from accessing the NHS.

No assessment has been made on the link between iron anaemia and colorectal cancer for national screening purposes. Colorectal cancer is more common in people over the age of 50, but it can affect people of any age. To identify patients who have symptoms that do not align to a particular type of tumour, including for non-specific symptoms of colorectal cancer, the National Health Service has implemented ‘non-specific symptom pathways’. There are 103 pathways currently in place with the aim to have national coverage by March 2024.

To encourage people to see their general practitioner if they notice symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England runs the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaigns, which address the barriers that deter patients from accessing the NHS.

The Department is working with NHS England to finalise the delivery of £10 million for breast screening units, including determining which areas will benefit from this investment.

National Health Service breast screening providers are also encouraged to work with Cancer Alliances, Primary Care Networks, NHS regional teams and the voluntary sector to promote the uptake of breast screening and ensure access to services.

The information requested is not currently available. In January 2022, we have increased procurement of and delivery capacity for lateral flow device tests. We expect to have distributed 90 million tests a week in the United Kingdom through all channels. We now have the capacity to distribute up to 12 million tests a week in England through the pharmacy programme.

There is no shortage of lateral flow tests and the Government will continue to procure enough stock to meet ongoing demand, including in the Lambeth and Southwark areas, through our national and local delivery channels.

In the light of the current exceptionally high demand for COVID-19 lateral flow tests, we have significantly increased distribution capacity, to make sure we can meet demand for polymerase chain reaction tests as well as lateral flow tests to be sent to people’s homes. Lateral flow devices can also be collected from local pharmacies and some community sites.

The Department has reminded private providers not to process data for a purpose that would be incompatible with the purpose for which the data was initially collected. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has also set out frequently asked questions on data collection and data protection relating to COVID-19 that provide further information. This reminder together with a link to the ICO’s guidance can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/testing-on-day-2-and-day-8-for-international-arrivals.

The government continues to work across departments, the travel industry and private testing providers to further reduce testing costs, while ensuring travel is as safe as possible. The government will continue to review the testing and health measures in place, with the next Checkpoint review taking place later this month.

No specific assessment has been made. Businesses, including private providers, need to ensure that they are compliant with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires them to take appropriate security measures to protect the records that they keep. The Information Commissioner’s Office may issue penalties against businesses in breach of GDPR.

The Government does not endorse, recommend, or approve any private test providers and the Department has not issued private companies with specific guidance or regulations on people’s data. Businesses, including private providers, must ensure that they are compliant with the United Kingdom’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires providers to take appropriate security measures to protect the records that they keep. The Information Commissioner’s Office may issue penalties against businesses in breach of GDPR.

No estimate has been made.

There is no national screening programme for diagnosis of endometriosis. Women should consult their general practitioner in the first instance if they suspect symptoms. Clinicians should follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on diagnosis and management of endometriosis. Diagnosis and treatment times for endometriosis this will be considered as part of the Women's Health Strategy.

Research to explore women’s experiences in primary care when presenting with endometriosis-like symptoms is currently underway, hosted by the National Institute of Health Research. The results will be published later this year and will help us to understand delays in diagnosis.

No estimate has been made.

There is no national screening programme for diagnosis of endometriosis. Women should consult their general practitioner in the first instance if they suspect symptoms. Clinicians should follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on diagnosis and management of endometriosis. Diagnosis and treatment times for endometriosis this will be considered as part of the Women's Health Strategy.

Research to explore women’s experiences in primary care when presenting with endometriosis-like symptoms is currently underway, hosted by the National Institute of Health Research. The results will be published later this year and will help us to understand delays in diagnosis.

The median distance travelled for a test is 1.9 miles. We have recently increased the radius search on the portal for local testing sites (LTS) from 10 miles to 25 miles, to help ensure that people who live in sparsely populated areas are able to book appointments at their local LTS without driving a further distance to a regional test site.