Oral Answers to Questions

Helen Whately Excerpts

Wednesday 5th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Helen Whately (Faversham and Mid Kent) (Con)]

Q6. As my right hon. Friend knows, none of us looks forward to a smear test, but it can make the difference between life and death. Worryingly, nearly a third of women are missing out on cervical screening. Can I ask my right hon. Friend what steps she and her Government are taking to make sure that more women get tested and do not suffer the terrible consequences of picking up cancer too late?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising what is an important point. We do recognise that we need to do more to encourage women to undertake cervical screening tests. In October, we announced a package of measures that will be rolled out across the country, which has the aim of seeing three quarters of all cancers detected at an early stage by 2028. That will see a radical overhaul of the screening programmes, and they will be made more accessible and easier to use.

But I just want to give this very simple message, and I am able to do so standing at this Dispatch Box: smear tests are not nice. All those of us who have had smear tests recognise that they are not nice. But they are important. If you want to see cancer detected early, have your smear test. A few minutes of discomfort could be saving your life.