Oral Answers to Questions

Abena Oppong-Asare Excerpts

Tuesday 8th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, absolutely, I 100% agree with my hon. Friend. We have the funding to expand that programme. She will have seen in our national genomics healthcare strategy that newborn screening is specifically highlighted. It is a personal mission of mine to make that happen. I am happy to meet her and Baroness Blackwood, the chair of Genomics England, who has been driving the project forward.

[Abena Oppong-Asare (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)]

Early diagnosis gives the best chance of survival, but a GP in my constituency has expressed serious concerns about delays in accessing urgent blood tests, which are critical to diagnose cancer. Will the Secretary of State ensure that local issues such as this do not worsen the already significant cancer backlog and put more people’s lives at risk?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. The hon. Lady raises a very important issue, and if she writes to me with the full details, we will get right on it.