As part of the evolving NHS Genomic Medicine Service infrastructure, a new delivery model will be in place from April 2026 to deliver the genomics commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan, the National Cancer Plan, and other national strategies.

Currently, there is variable access to freezers for fresh frozen tissue in the NHS with the associated complexity of cold chain transport. Providing adequate freezer storage for fresh frozen tissue is necessary to ensure that there is equitable regional access to whole genome sequencing (WGS) testing.

In efforts to address this variability NHS England has produced national sample handling guidance to support approaches to the handling of fresh tissue and more recently the use of tissue stabilisers has been introduced to provide an alternative to frozen tissue and still meet the requirements for WGS. NHS England is also currently working with the British Neuro-Oncology Society to map where freezer storage facilities for fresh frozen tissue are required.

Fresh tissue pathways are dependent on system engagement and work is ongoing between the NHS Genomics, Cancer, and Pathology programmes to develop and optimise these pathways and ensure that all appropriate cancer patients, including brain and central nervous system and rare cancers, get the optimal genomic testing for their tumour type.

A number of NHS Genomic Networks of Excellence are also developing the evidence for developing fresh tissue pathways for WGS.

Increasing capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services is a priority for the Government. We are committed to providing the National Health Service with the latest technology, replacing outdated equipment to make diagnosis more accurate and timely, and improving experience for patients. Plans for future funding will be informed by NHS England's assessment of priorities, and will be set out at the earliest opportunity.

It is our priority to take the steps necessary to return to waiting time standards for cancer, including the Faster Diagnosis Standard, which sets a target of 28 days from urgent referral by a general practitioner or screening programme to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out.

On the one hand, cervical screening is incredibly important and very effective at saving lives from cervical cancer—we estimate that it saves around 5,000 lives per year. There is no evidence to support a screening programme for ovarian cancer, and I will take away the hon. Lady’s question about whether there should be communications about that when people go for a cervical smear.

We are catching more cancers early than ever before, and work to raise awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, screening programmes and investment in early diagnosis are all playing their part. We fund community events to raise awareness of ovarian cancer, and NHS England is working to increase cervical screening take-up by providing more convenient appointments, including at weekends and evenings.

As at March 2023, two community diagnostic centres (CDCs) in England provide mammography services, one CDC offers routine breast screening under the breast screening programme, and two CDCs provide both mammography services and breast screening.

Additional activity delivered by CDCs represents a small proportion of overall mammography services provided by the National Health Service in England. This is generally provided through other NHS infrastructure including dedicated mobile units.

Women who have been identified as being at very high risk of breast cancer are screened as part of the National Health Service breast screening programme.

Last year, the remit of The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) was expanded to include targeted and risk-stratified screening as well as population screening. Targeted screening could include women at moderate and high risk of breast cancer. To date the UK NSC has not made a recommendation for targeted screening of women at moderate or high risk of breast cancer but is currently considering evidence relating to use of risk stratification within the current breast screening programme.

The first phase of the digital transformation of screening programme, the Cervical Screening Management System (CSMS) is due to go live in November 2023. NHS England remains committed to the Digital Transformation of Screening programme and has been developing new timetables following the merging of NHS England and NHS Digital. Following the roll out of the CSMS system, the timeline for the further development of the programme will be finalised.

NHS England do not currently collect data on how many women currently receive surveillance screening as part of moderate-risk or high-risk familial breast cancer management.

Information on the rates of breast screening coverage in England is available at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/public-health-outcomes-framework/data#page/7/gid/1000042/ati/15/iid/22001/age/225/sex/2/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1/page-options/ine-yo-1:2020:-1:-1_ine-ct-113_ine-pt-0

NHS England forecast that by the end of November 2022, 50 of the 75 screening providers will have recovered services, with five pending a review. By the end of 2022, 65 are forecast to have fully recovered and the remaining 10 services predicting recovery in 2023.

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.

No specific assessment has been made. However, the forthcoming Women’s Health Strategy will address gynaecological cancers and improving the health and wellbeing of women. The Strategy will be published later this year. In addition, officials are analysing the responses received to the call for evidence to develop the 10-Year Cancer Plan, which aims to improve outcomes for cancer patients through early diagnosis and innovative treatments.

Patients eligible for COVID-19 treatments will be sent a pack of lateral flow device tests for use should they become symptomatic. Individuals who may be eligible for tests can order one further pack containing seven tests every three days from GOV.UK or 119. The results should be registered on GOV.UK.

Patients at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19 and who are eligible for treatments will continue to have access to free lateral flow device tests from 1 April.

The highest risk patient group will be contacted to confirm their continued access to free testing and will receive lateral flow device tests to use should they become symptomatic. Individuals will also be informed how to reorder further tests. The retention of free testing in this patient group will facilitate continued access to COVID-19 treatments, including antivirals.

From 1 April 2022, free universal access to asymptomatic and symptomatic tests for the public in England ended. The Government will continue to provide free symptomatic testing for patients in hospital, for whom a test is required for clinical management or to support treatment pathways. Free testing will be available for people who are eligible for COVID-19 treatments due to a higher risk of becoming seriously ill and those who live or work in high-risk closed settings to minimise outbreaks. Asymptomatic lateral flow testing will continue from April in some high-risk settings where infection can spread rapidly while prevalence is high.

No specific assessment has been made. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out the ambition that 75% of people with cancer will be diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 by 2028. On 14 February 2022, the Department will launch the ‘Help us help you’ cervical screening campaign to raise awareness of the risks of cervical cancer and highlight the preventative benefits of screening. The campaign will also remind people to book an appointment with their general practitioner practice or local sexual health clinic if they missed their last screening.

A best practice timed pathway for gynaecological cancers is scheduled for publication shortly. This will support shortened diagnosis pathways, reduce variation, improve patient experience of care and meet the faster diagnosis standard.

All private providers of COVID-19 testing services must meet certain minimum standards set by the Government. Providers must complete a declaration stating that their tests meet these standards.  If we become aware that a provider is not meeting these standards, we can issue a warning to demonstrate they have rectified their service. Where this is not corrected, we can remove their listing from GOV.UK. Where a provider’s activities pose a potential risk to public safety, we will refer them to the appropriate enforcement body. Where necessary we will support regulatory bodies undertaking further investigation of a provider and support any legal actions or interventions.

If a consumer has not received their test kit, they should contact the provider directly in the first instance. If the problem is not resolved, further information can be found on GOV.UK guidance on consumer rights at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/consumer-protection-rights

NHS England and NHS Improvement have made good progress in clearing the backlog of appointments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: all local National Health Service breast screening services are operational and are working to ensure that these women are invited for screening as quickly as possible.

Services have been advised to prioritise women aged 53 who have not yet been screened and women aged 71 or over awaiting a breast screening invitation, together with women assessed as being at very high risk of developing breast cancer. NHS England and NHS Improvement have also made funding available to trusts to support the adaptation of mobile breast screening units in order to enhance their safe use and so maximise the number of units available to screen women.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, neonatal services have been working hard to support parents to care for their babies while still ensuring that services are safe.

Information produced by the British Association of Paediatric Medicine sets out that the same arrangements for testing should be offered to parents of babies in neonatal care as are applied to staff, in order to minimise unnecessary separation. This includes testing of symptomatic parents and testing of suspected contacts.

Current clinical advice is that asymptomatic testing can be conducted where clinically appropriate for outbreak investigation and infection control. These decisions are made by local decision makers based on patient and procedural risk.

The sixth week of NHS Test and Trace figures published on 16 July show anyone getting a test at a regional test site or mobile testing unit can expect their result by the next day.