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.

On 25 August 2026, the National Health Service in England announced the roll out the new self-testing kits to encourage more women to complete their potentially lifesaving screening to detect HPV, which can increase the risk of cervical cancer.

NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency do not routinely report or publish HPV vaccination coverage data for post-school-age catch-up cohorts. Approaches to evaluating the impact of the 2025/26 general practice HPV vaccination catch-up campaign on vaccination uptake among eligible young people are currently being explored.

Health is a devolved matter, and cancer services in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of their respective administrations. The National Cancer Plan therefore applies to England only, while we continue to work closely with devolved administrations to share learning and best practice.

No formal assessment of the Making Every Contact Count impact on HPV vaccination or cervical screening is planned although we recognise its importance in encouraging uptake of vaccination and screening services. Uptake of HPV vaccination and coverage of cervical screening will continue to be monitored through established programme arrangements.

The information requested on women's health hubs is not held by the Department. Breast screening is delivered through the NHS Breast Screening Programme, which invites eligible women aged 50 to 71 years old every three years. Information on breast awareness and screening eligibility is available through the National Health Service website and the NHS App.

There are currently no plans to change the existing local surveillance arrangements for women at moderate and high risk of breast cancer.

Despite some recent misinformed media coverage, I can confirm to the Hon. Members that there has been no change to the policy in respect of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for men aged over 50 years old. Any such man who is concerned about prostate cancer, regardless of whether they have symptoms, remains free to make an appointment with their general practitioner, raise their concerns, and ask for a PSA test, exactly as they have done in the past. No impact assessment was therefore made when the guidance in this area was consolidated and updated in June, as there was no change in policy to assess.

The two main studies from the Cochrane review were included in the UK National Screening Committee modelling when they made their most recent recommendation regarding prostate cancer screening, and it should be noted that the Cochrane review came to the same statistical conclusions as the UK National Screening Committee regarding ‘mortality reduction", sometimes called lives saved, from PSA testing and subsequent treatment.

With regard to the next review of prostate cancer screening, I refer the Hon. Members to the article published by the UK National Screening Committee on 11 August 2026, which is available at the following link:

https://nationalscreening.blog.gov.uk/2026/08/11/the-uk-nscs-prostate-cancer-screening-model-will-remain-open-and-under-review/

Despite some recent misinformed media coverage, I can confirm to the Hon. Members that there has been no change to the policy in respect of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for men aged over 50 years old. Any such man who is concerned about prostate cancer, regardless of whether they have symptoms, remains free to make an appointment with their general practitioner, raise their concerns, and ask for a PSA test, exactly as they have done in the past. No impact assessment was therefore made when the guidance in this area was consolidated and updated in June, as there was no change in policy to assess.

The two main studies from the Cochrane review were included in the UK National Screening Committee modelling when they made their most recent recommendation regarding prostate cancer screening, and it should be noted that the Cochrane review came to the same statistical conclusions as the UK National Screening Committee regarding ‘mortality reduction", sometimes called lives saved, from PSA testing and subsequent treatment.

With regard to the next review of prostate cancer screening, I refer the Hon. Members to the article published by the UK National Screening Committee on 11 August 2026, which is available at the following link:

https://nationalscreening.blog.gov.uk/2026/08/11/the-uk-nscs-prostate-cancer-screening-model-will-remain-open-and-under-review/

Despite some recent misinformed media coverage, I can confirm to the Hon. Members that there has been no change to the policy in respect of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for men aged over 50 years old. Any such man who is concerned about prostate cancer, regardless of whether they have symptoms, remains free to make an appointment with their general practitioner, raise their concerns, and ask for a PSA test, exactly as they have done in the past. No impact assessment was therefore made when the guidance in this area was consolidated and updated in June, as there was no change in policy to assess.

The two main studies from the Cochrane review were included in the UK National Screening Committee modelling when they made their most recent recommendation regarding prostate cancer screening, and it should be noted that the Cochrane review came to the same statistical conclusions as the UK National Screening Committee regarding ‘mortality reduction", sometimes called lives saved, from PSA testing and subsequent treatment.

With regard to the next review of prostate cancer screening, I refer the Hon. Members to the article published by the UK National Screening Committee on 11 August 2026, which is available at the following link:

https://nationalscreening.blog.gov.uk/2026/08/11/the-uk-nscs-prostate-cancer-screening-model-will-remain-open-and-under-review/

Despite some recent misinformed media coverage, I can confirm to the Hon. Members that there has been no change to the policy in respect of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for men aged over 50 years old. Any such man who is concerned about prostate cancer, regardless of whether they have symptoms, remains free to make an appointment with their general practitioner, raise their concerns, and ask for a PSA test, exactly as they have done in the past. No impact assessment was therefore made when the guidance in this area was consolidated and updated in June, as there was no change in policy to assess.

The two main studies from the Cochrane review were included in the UK National Screening Committee modelling when they made their most recent recommendation regarding prostate cancer screening, and it should be noted that the Cochrane review came to the same statistical conclusions as the UK National Screening Committee regarding ‘mortality reduction", sometimes called lives saved, from PSA testing and subsequent treatment.

With regard to the next review of prostate cancer screening, I refer the Hon. Members to the article published by the UK National Screening Committee on 11 August 2026, which is available at the following link:

https://nationalscreening.blog.gov.uk/2026/08/11/the-uk-nscs-prostate-cancer-screening-model-will-remain-open-and-under-review/

Despite some recent misinformed media coverage, I can confirm to the Hon. Members that there has been no change to the policy in respect of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for men aged over 50 years old. Any such man who is concerned about prostate cancer, regardless of whether they have symptoms, remains free to make an appointment with their general practitioner, raise their concerns, and ask for a PSA test, exactly as they have done in the past. No impact assessment was therefore made when the guidance in this area was consolidated and updated in June, as there was no change in policy to assess.

The two main studies from the Cochrane review were included in the UK National Screening Committee modelling when they made their most recent recommendation regarding prostate cancer screening, and it should be noted that the Cochrane review came to the same statistical conclusions as the UK National Screening Committee regarding ‘mortality reduction", sometimes called lives saved, from PSA testing and subsequent treatment.

With regard to the next review of prostate cancer screening, I refer the Hon. Members to the article published by the UK National Screening Committee on 11 August 2026, which is available at the following link:

https://nationalscreening.blog.gov.uk/2026/08/11/the-uk-nscs-prostate-cancer-screening-model-will-remain-open-and-under-review/

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 July in response to Question 13406.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 17 March 2026 to Question HL14999, which for ease of reference, is reproduced below, and to the Written Statement HLWS82 made on 2 June 2026.

The Government has made it clear that it would like to see screening in place for prostate cancer where it is supported by the evidence.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) consulted on their draft recommendation regarding prostate cancer screening which was based on a model commissioned from Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR). SCHARR included expert economists and clinicians in workshops throughout the model’s development. The UK NSC ran a series of workshops with economists, academics, and clinicians to examine the model’s structure, evidence, assumptions, and conclusions. It also ran a 12-week public consultation on their draft recommendation and evidence package. Upon request, York Health Economics Consortium were given access to the underpinning model and York, as well as Prostate Cancer Research who funded York’s work, have submitted findings to the consultation. Updates have been made on the basis of comments which have been shared with experts. These findings will be considered alongside the other submissions to the consultation before UK NSC make a final recommendation based on the current evidence base.

The model will be maintained and interrogated as new evidence becomes available. The UK NSC is committed to keeping prostate cancer screening under review.

Q13

.

Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab):

I thank the Prime Minister for his commitment to mental health and to building a country that acts sooner when people need help. Five years ago, I lost one of my best friends, Sophie, to suicide after the birth of her third child; her little girl was just 10 weeks old at the time. Having a new baby can be a time of great excitement and joy, but for one in four women, it is a time of mental health challenges, from anxiety and depression to obsessive compulsive disorder and serious conditions like post-partum psychosis. I have introduced a Bill—Sophie’s law—to ensure that every pregnant woman gets a mental health check-in. Will the Prime Minister work with me to ensure that no one else struggles in the way that Sophie did?

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the incredible work she is doing in memory of her friend; I know that her dad Nigel has also campaigned so strongly on this. I have always believed in whole-person care—in physical, mental and social care being delivered together. We are investing more in perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships—more funding is going in—but I accept, as she is saying, that more needs to be done. I will look at her Bill. I understand the call for Sophie’s law and will make sure that a Health Minister meets her to discuss it.

The requested information is not held by the Department.

Effective early identification and intervention is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia.

The department recognises that special educational needs, including dyslexia, do not always become apparent in the early years of education. Needs can emerge, change or become more visible later in school or in post-16 settings as academic and social demands increase.

The department’s reforms are designed to support identification whenever needs arise and to provide a clear route from identification to support. This includes access to targeted interventions, specialist advice through Experts at Hand and an Individual Support Plan, where appropriate. This will help ensure that children and young people can access the support they need, regardless of when their needs are identified.

Effective early identification and intervention is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia.

The SEND Code of Practice makes it clear that meeting the needs of a child with SEND does not require a diagnostic label. Instead, practitioners should identify and address pupils' needs at the earliest opportunity through a graduated approach, in which progress is regularly assessed, and support is provided based on an individual's identified needs.

The department's SEND reforms will support earlier and more consistent identification of need through the National Inclusion Standards. The reforms will set out the ordinarily available provision that should be in every setting across the 0 to 25 system, as well as the evidence-based tools and approaches for educators to identify and support children and young people with SEND.

The department does not currently plan to introduce universal screening for dyslexia or a national dyslexia-specific diagnostic pathway. We expect practitioners to monitor the progress of all pupils, identify emerging difficulties and put appropriate support in place promptly, regardless of whether a child has received a formal diagnosis.