National Cancer Plan

Harpreet Uppal Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ashley Dalton]

Ministers quite like making promises from the Dispatch Box on behalf of our Front-Bench colleagues, but in this case I think I will just gently encourage my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to join the hon. Member, if he is able to do so—I look forward to seeing the photographs.

We are exploring opportunities for breast cancer screening. There are difficulties in early screening because of dense breast tissue, but we are expanding screening where it provides support. In particular on breast screening, we are monitoring the emerging evidence from BRAID—breast screening risk adaptive imaging for density—trials, which target programmes at women with greater risk. We are also considering the findings from the £11 million EDITH—early detection using information technology in health—trial, testing how cutting-edge tools can be used to catch breast cancer cases earlier, particularly in younger women, like me, for whom a mammogram was not successful because of dense breast tissue.

[Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)]

I join others in thanking the Minister for all the work on the national cancer plan. Last week I was lucky enough to visit the brand-new NHS community diagnostic centre on the national health innovation campus at Huddersfield University. Diagnostic radiographers are being trained on the second floor of that building. I also welcome the work of Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS foundation trust, which is ranked as one of the best performing trusts in the country for meeting cancer waiting times. How will we learn from that best practice across the country?

[Ashley Dalton]

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting such amazing work happening in her constituency. From the very beginning, we have said that this Government’s approach is to take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS. Using the NHS app and the new national co-ordination of activities, we hope to share some of that best practice a lot more widely.