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.

The performance of all national screening programmes is under regular review, informed by advice from the UK National Screening Committee, NHS England, and ongoing analysis of programme and outcome data.

20,000 cancers were identified through breast screening in England in 2024/25, demonstrating the programme’s ongoing contribution to early diagnosis of breast cancer and ensuring women with cancer are referred to treatment in a timely manner.

Breast screening attendance has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with approximately 70.6% of women taking up their invitation to be screened and approximately 71.8% of eligible women up to date with screening.

Breast screening is estimated to save the lives of approximately 1,300 women each year in the United Kingdom.

The NHS Cervical Screening Programme is highly effective at preventing cancer as well as detecting disease early, primarily through the identification and treatment of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) and pre-cancerous changes.

The programme is estimated to save approximately 4,500 lives each year in England. As of 2023/24, 1,058 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer through screening while 70,286 were diagnosed with pre-cancerous changes of varying severity in cells on the surface of the cervix. 92.6% of women who had a referral to colposcopy for high grade, or more serious, cell changes were offered an appointment within two weeks.

Approximately 68.8% of eligible women were up to date with screening in the 2023/24 screening year in England. Later this year, we will start to offer self-testing for HPV 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.

The NHS Health Check (NHS HC) programme is commissioned by local authorities who are responsible for offering 100% of their eligible resident population a check every five years.

The Government's Public Health Grant to local authorities is used to enable the programme's provision and allows local authorities to ensure that delivery of the NHS HC is aligned with local public health services and fits their local population.

The programme's Best Practice Guidance provides commissioners and their providers with information on how to deliver the programme effectively, and how to adopt a proportionate universalist approach to ensure that checks are delivered in a way that prioritises resources and effort towards engaging people at higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

Department officials are considering options to improve the NHS HC programme.

The NHS Health Check Online (NHSHC-O) is in the private Beta testing phase and is being piloted in 11 local authorities across England. As part of the NHSHC-O, users receive a self-sampling capillary blood testing kit, delivered to their home, to measure cholesterol, and, if appropriate, HbA1c. Samples are then sent to a United Kingdom Accreditation Service accredited laboratory for assessment.

All results from the NHSHC-O are automatically written back into the patient's electronic health record. General practices are notified if a patient's results indicate that further assessment is necessary and, if required, undertake further clinical investigation and treatment where appropriate, in line with existing clinical pathways.

The NHS Health Check (NHS HC) aims to improve the health and wellbeing of adults aged 40 to 74 years old through the promotion of early awareness, assessment, and management of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), risk factors that are associated with premature death, disability, and health inequalities in England. Improving uptake of the programme, including for people at the highest risk and experiencing inequalities, is a priority for the programme.

The NHS Health Check Online is currently being tested in 11 local authorities across England and aims to increase access and engagement with the programme for all population groups, by allowing people to undertake their NHS Health Check at home, at a time and place convenient to them, freeing up in-person NHS HCs for those who want or need more support.

The recently published Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) sets out the 10-year ambition to systematically identify individuals with established or emerging cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic risk factors, including via the NHS HC, whilst reducing the variation in the number of people receiving a check between the best and worst performing areas nationally. A delivery plan will be published later this year to support local implementation of the CVD MSF.

The NHS Health Check programme, a core component of England's cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programme, assesses the top risk factors for CVD, including raised cholesterol, in eligible people and refers them to further support through behavioural interventions, clinical assessment, and treatment where appropriate. For every 1.4 million NHS Health Checks delivered annually, 900,000 people are found to have raised cholesterol level. We are also developing the NHS Health Check Online to improve access and help more people understand and act on their risk factors.

Furthermore, NHS England is strengthening lipid management by improving identification of people at risk of CVD through risk assessment, case finding, and community-based initiatives, including pharmacy-led approaches and cholesterol point of care testing.

The Government recently published the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, which sets out priorities for the health and care system to accelerate progress on the ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within the next decade. Identifying people with high cholesterol and optimising lipid management for people with high cholesterol are amongst the priorities for the health and care system.

The Government is advised on all screening matters by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which is made up of leading medical and screening experts.

The UK NSC considered newborn screening for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), undertaking a review and a three-month consultation on those findings which closed on 5 August 2025. At the November 2025 UK NSC meeting, committee members concluded that there was not enough evidence to support newborn screening for MLD. Further information on the meeting is available at the following link:

https://nationalscreening.blog.gov.uk/2026/01/08/minutes-published-of-uk-nsc-november-2025-meeting/

However, members agreed that MLD would be a good candidate for inclusion in a multi-condition in-service evaluation within the United Kingdom newborn blood spot screening programme.

The Department is currently considering what would be needed to introduce such an evaluation.

The NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme is designed to detect lung cancer at an earlier stage in people at high risk of developing the disease.

The Government is advised on all screening matters by the independent UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). At its most recent review in June 2022, the UK NSC recommended targeted lung cancer screening for people aged 55 to 74 years old who are at high risk of developing lung cancer. The modelling that informed this recommendation did not include chronic respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

NHS England has introduced a national Incidental Findings Protocol to ensure clinically significant incidental findings are referred for appropriate investigation and follow-up through established National Health Service pathways.

In April 2026, the UK NSC concluded a three-month public consultation on screening for COPD. The outcome of this consultation will be published in due course. In addition, the UK NSC's annual open call for new evidence and proposals for screening programmes is currently open until 30 September 2026, providing an opportunity for individuals and organisations to submit proposals supported by evidence.

The independent UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which advises the Government on all screening matters, is considering the best approach for women with dense breast tissue. It reviewed the evidence relating to the provision of additional breast screening for women who have dense breast tissue and invited stakeholders’ feedback on the findings to inform future work. The consultation closed in August 2025, and the UK NSC recommended that further work is needed to understand the clinical impact and costs of adding breast density to the screening pathways in the United Kingdom.

In 2025, the UK NSC set up a working group of breast cancer screening experts to help it consider new and emerging evidence and developments that could further improve the UK breast screening programme. This is including breast density as a key issue. This work is ongoing.

Furthermore, the Breast Screening - Risk Adaptive Imaging for Density study is looking into whether supplementary imaging techniques, like magnetic resonance imaging or ultrasound, could be used for women with dense breast tissue. The UK NSC is in contact with the researchers and is reviewing the evidence as it becomes available.

If, following this work, the UK NSC makes a recommendation regarding breast density, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, would be asked to make a decision on whether to accept the recommendation, alongside wider policy and operational advice.

The independent UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which advises the Government on all screening matters, is considering the best approach for women with dense breast tissue. It reviewed the evidence relating to the provision of additional breast screening for women who have dense breast tissue and invited stakeholders’ feedback on the findings to inform future work. The consultation closed in August 2025, and the UK NSC recommended that further work is needed to understand the clinical impact and costs of adding breast density to the screening pathways in the United Kingdom.

In 2025, the UK NSC set up a working group of breast cancer screening experts to help it consider new and emerging evidence and developments that could further improve the UK breast screening programme. This is including breast density as a key issue. This work is ongoing.

Furthermore, the Breast Screening - Risk Adaptive Imaging for Density study is looking into whether supplementary imaging techniques, like magnetic resonance imaging or ultrasound, could be used for women with dense breast tissue. The UK NSC is in contact with the researchers and is reviewing the evidence as it becomes available.

If, following this work, the UK NSC makes a recommendation regarding breast density, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, would be asked to make a decision on whether to accept the recommendation, alongside wider policy and operational advice.

The Government recognises how worrying heart health can be for the families of young people. The National Health Service already offers cardiac tests for young people who present with symptoms that could indicate a cardiac issue.

In considering whether any screening programme should be introduced, the Government is guided by the independent scientific advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. Where the committee is confident that offering screening provides more good than harm, they recommend a screening programme.

In 2019, the UK NSC reviewed screening for the conditions associated with sudden cardiac death in people under the age of 39 years old. The conclusion of that review was that population screening should not be offered, as research showed that current tests are not accurate enough to use on young people with no symptoms.

Last month the UK NSC opened a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on screening for the conditions associated with sudden cardiac death. The consultation is open till 31 August, and we encourage those with an interest to contribute, at the following link:

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

The Government is guided by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. It is only where the UK NSC is confident that there is robust evidence that to screen would provide more good than harm that a screening programme is recommended, as all medical interventions carry an inherent risk.

The UK NSC received a submission via its 2024 open call process to consider screening for autoimmune type 1 diabetes through blood testing. Now that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published its recommendation on the drug teplizumab, the UK NSC will look again at this open call submission and consider whether a fresh review of the evidence for type 1 diabetes screening should be undertaken.

The UK NSC is aware of the Early Surveillance for Autoimmune Diabetes study and looks forward to receiving the results of this study when the trial is complete.

The Prostate Cancer Screening Model, used by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) to make its recommendation, was commissioned from modelling experts at the Sheffield Centre of Health and Related Research (SCHARR). SCHARR has been commissioned and funded by the Government to maintain the model and continue to work with the UK NSC on developing it for a further three years. This means that new data and evidence can be considered and included in the model throughout the life of the contract.

The model uses data and evidence from a variety of sources, some of which, for example epidemiological data and National Health Service costs, will need to be kept updated throughout the three-year period to ensure that the most up-to-date and relevant data is used in the model before new analyses are run.

The team at SCHARR is already working with the UK NSC Secretariat to identify and consider new evidence. This includes, for example, whether the definition of family history can be refined and whether there is robust additional evidence that can be put into the model.

The UK NSC and SCHARR are also preparing to examine evidence relating to risk algorithms and biomarkers, for example, the Stockholm3 tool. The underpinning evidence on these will be examined in a large evidence review. If the evidence is compelling, then the model will be adjusted to allow varying pathways, risk stratification, for men depending on the results of multiple tests.

In addition, the UK NSC Secretariat is liaising with the research team running the TRANSFORM trial and will work with SCHARR to update the model in the light of any significant information from the trial, especially on Black men.

Furthermore, the UK NSC Secretariat will continue to horizon scan for other relevant evidence. The UK NSC launched an open call for screening topics to be put forward on 1 July, and this is open until 30 September, with further information available at the following link:

https://nationalscreening.blog.gov.uk/2026/07/01/the-uk-nsc-2026-call-for-screening-topics-is-now-open/

This may yield submissions related to prostate cancer screening that will be considered and fed into the model as appropriate.

All the potential scenarios and options built into the model will be based on the best available evidence and will be considered carefully to ensure the best use of the resources allocated and to optimise timely and useful outputs to the committee.

The Prostate Cancer Screening Model, used by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) to make its recommendation, was commissioned from modelling experts at the Sheffield Centre of Health and Related Research (SCHARR). SCHARR has been commissioned and funded by the Government to maintain the model and continue to work with the UK NSC on developing it for a further three years. This means that new data and evidence can be considered and included in the model throughout the life of the contract.

The model uses data and evidence from a variety of sources, some of which, for example epidemiological data and National Health Service costs, will need to be kept updated throughout the three-year period to ensure that the most up-to-date and relevant data is used in the model before new analyses are run.

The team at SCHARR is already working with the UK NSC Secretariat to identify and consider new evidence. This includes, for example, whether the definition of family history can be refined and whether there is robust additional evidence that can be put into the model.

The UK NSC and SCHARR are also preparing to examine evidence relating to risk algorithms and biomarkers, for example, the Stockholm3 tool. The underpinning evidence on these will be examined in a large evidence review. If the evidence is compelling, then the model will be adjusted to allow varying pathways, risk stratification, for men depending on the results of multiple tests.

In addition, the UK NSC Secretariat is liaising with the research team running the TRANSFORM trial and will work with SCHARR to update the model in the light of any significant information from the trial, especially on Black men.

Furthermore, the UK NSC Secretariat will continue to horizon scan for other relevant evidence. The UK NSC launched an open call for screening topics to be put forward on 1 July, and this is open until 30 September, with further information available at the following link:

https://nationalscreening.blog.gov.uk/2026/07/01/the-uk-nsc-2026-call-for-screening-topics-is-now-open/

This may yield submissions related to prostate cancer screening that will be considered and fed into the model as appropriate.

All the potential scenarios and options built into the model will be based on the best available evidence and will be considered carefully to ensure the best use of the resources allocated and to optimise timely and useful outputs to the committee.

The latest available data, May 2026, showed 78.1% of suspected breast cancer referrals which were identified through the national screening programme in England were diagnosed within 28 days. The National Cancer Plan sets a clear ambition to meet all cancer waiting time standards by the end of this Parliament, ensuring patients get faster diagnosis and treatment, including those with breast cancer. We will achieve this through a modernised, more productive cancer pathway, expanding diagnostic capacity, harnessing technology, and giving the most challenged trusts intensive support to deliver the improvements patients rightly expect.  Which indicates that the capacity of the system to provide timely patient diagnosis from screening is adequate.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) makes recommendations regarding all screening programmes. Although there is a working group considering breast screening risk stratification, the committee have not made any recent recommendations regarding the expansion of the breast screening programme. Therefore, no assessment of impact on waiting times for diagnosis or treatment has been undertaken. If such a recommendation was made, the feasibility of implementation, in relation to capacity and impact on treatment times, would be considered as part of the advice that went to ministers before the Ministers made a decision on whether to accept the UK NSC advice.