I refer the Hon Member to the press release issued by NHS England setting out the objectives of the self-testing rollout, and to the impact assessments carried out to inform the development of this policy, all of which are available at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/08/nhs-rolls-out-discreet-home-testing-kits-against-cervical-cancer-for-millions-of-women/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-hpv-self-sampling-impact-assessments

I refer the Hon Member to the press release issued by NHS England setting out the objectives of the self-testing rollout, and to the impact assessments carried out to inform the development of this policy, all of which are available at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/08/nhs-rolls-out-discreet-home-testing-kits-against-cervical-cancer-for-millions-of-women/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-hpv-self-sampling-impact-assessments

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 Health Check Online is in the private Beta testing phase and is being piloted in local authorities across England. Insights from the testing phase will inform decisions on next steps such as whether further development is needed.

Department officials are considering opportunities to improve the NHS Health Check programme as part of ongoing policy work for the programme. We continue to engage with the programme’s dedicated Advisory Group and its Scientific and Clinical subgroup, ensuring expert advice is at the centre of any future proposals.

Alongside this, as announced in the recently published Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, we have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Research to conduct an evidence review on the scope of the NHS Health Check to inform future policy decisions.

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice requires a person-centred approach to identifying SEND (including dyslexia) in children and young people, placing emphasis on the individual’s own views and choices after compulsory school age. Identification should consider social, emotional, and developmental factors alongside academic progress, as some high-achieving learners may mask underlying needs. Post-16 providers also have a statutory duty to use screening and transition information to identify and support needs early.

The SEND reform consultation ‘Putting Children and Young People First’ aims to improve consistency in identification and support, helping to identify and support unmet or late-emerging needs more effectively.

The consultation also proposed a £1.6 billion Inclusive Mainstream Fund given to schools, colleges and early years settings to deliver an improved inclusion offer, national SEND training for all staff, backed by over £200 million over three years, and new National Inclusion Standards and early identification tools to support the provision of earlier and more consistent help.

The Government recognises the challenges faced by those living with rare diseases, as well as their families, and is committed to improving outcomes. We are guided in screening matters by the independent UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC reviewed the evidence for screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in 2023 and concluded that there were gaps in the evidence. It was of the view that these evidence gaps are best filled at large scale in live services, so the committee recommended an in-service evaluation (ISE).

For very rare conditions, it is difficult to generate robust evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of screening, because so few babies are affected.

The ISE was originally due to start in January 2027, but earlier this year the Government committed to bringing this forward to October 2026. The evidence from this ISE will inform a recommendation on whether to extend the National Health Service newborn blood spot screening programme and include routine screening for SMA.

The Department estimates that there are approximately 1,500 men currently known to have both a BRCA2 gene variant and a family history of breast, pancreatic, ovarian, or prostate cancer who will be eligible for the targeted prostate cancer screening programme. The Department has not estimated the costs of identifying additional BRCA2 variant carriers, as the UK National Screening Committee, which advises the Government on all screening related matters, did not recommend proactively identifying BRCA2 carriers.

In Lincolnshire, coverage amongst people aged between 60 and 74 years old is above the national average of 72.9% and currently stands at 75.5%. Nationally, coverage of bowel cancer screening has been increasing in recent years, with a marked increase from 2019 of 12.4% since the faecal immunochemical test was rolled out as the primary test in the screening programme.

Partners are working to increase participation in bowel cancer screening in Lincolnshire through a range of initiatives focused on improving access, awareness, and early diagnosis, including expanding eligibility for bowel cancer screening to include people aged over 50, enabling more residents to be screened, and working in partnership with the University of Lincoln's Lincolnshire Institute of Rural and Coastal Health to better understand barriers to screening participation and to develop evidence-based interventions to increase it.

NHS England has agreed to include screening for prior mefloquine use as part of patient clinical assessments within Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE. NHS England is working with providers to determine how this information can be recorded within existing clinical systems and reporting structures.

To improve awareness and understanding among general practitioners and across the National Health Service, NHS England is developing information on mefloquine and its potential adverse effects, informed by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. Once completed, this will be shared across the NHS and made available on the websites of the Royal College of General Practitioners and the National Armed Forces Training and Education Programme.

NHS England has agreed to include screening for prior mefloquine use as part of patient clinical assessments within Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE. NHS England is working with providers to determine how this information can be recorded within existing clinical systems and reporting structures.

To improve awareness and understanding among general practitioners and across the National Health Service, NHS England is developing information on mefloquine and its potential adverse effects, informed by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. Once completed, this will be shared across the NHS and made available on the websites of the Royal College of General Practitioners and the National Armed Forces Training and Education 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.

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 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/