Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) ensure all women who are eligible take up breast screening in East Sussex and (b) track and follow up on non-attendance appointments.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All eligible individuals, including in East and West Sussex, are given a timed appointment to attend the screening location closest to their registered general practice address, with the option to change the appointment time or location given by contacting the service. Research has shown that timed appointments are more effective in encouraging attendance. The service sends text reminders two and seven days before appointments.
Should an individual not attend their appointment, they are automatically given a new timed appointment at the same location and the same text reminder process occurs. If the individual does not attend the second timed appointment, they are offered an open invitation. This means that the individual can contact the service to book their own appointment. Since implementation of text reminders, the service has seen an improvement in appointment attendance, in line with expectations based on research.
Regular “do not attend” audits are undertaken by the service. The processes involved with these audits help identify any common rationales for non-attendance that can inform service improvement strategies.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure a) all women who are eligible take up breast screening in West Sussex and b) his Department tracks and follows up on non-attendance appointments.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All eligible individuals, including in East and West Sussex, are given a timed appointment to attend the screening location closest to their registered general practice address, with the option to change the appointment time or location given by contacting the service. Research has shown that timed appointments are more effective in encouraging attendance. The service sends text reminders two and seven days before appointments.
Should an individual not attend their appointment, they are automatically given a new timed appointment at the same location and the same text reminder process occurs. If the individual does not attend the second timed appointment, they are offered an open invitation. This means that the individual can contact the service to book their own appointment. Since implementation of text reminders, the service has seen an improvement in appointment attendance, in line with expectations based on research.
Regular “do not attend” audits are undertaken by the service. The processes involved with these audits help identify any common rationales for non-attendance that can inform service improvement strategies.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that 85 per cent of breast cancer patients start treatment within 62 days of urgent referral.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cancer patients are waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment, and improving performance against cancer waiting time standards, including the 62-day standard, is a priority for the Government.
It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including breast cancer, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for patients across England. The Department is committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment so that people with cancer can access the care they need more quickly.
We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet demand through investment in new diagnostic capacity, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners. As a first step towards earlier diagnosis and faster treatment, the NHS is now delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans and appointments each week.
In May 2025, NHS England announced the world’s first roll out of liquid biopsy testing, which is now available for all eligible breast cancer patients, and which aims to speed up diagnosis and inform better treatment options for those with breast cancer.
£70 million has been invested into new LINAC radiotherapy machines, to replace older, less efficient machines. This vital investment demonstrates our commitment to improving radiotherapy services, and will ensure that the most advanced treatments are available to patients who need it and will boost productivity, reducing waiting lists and ultimately improving outcomes.
The upcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment. It will ensure that patients have access to the latest treatments and technology and bring cancer care back into communities which need it the most. The plan will be published early this year.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when NHS England will publish the delayed breast screening uptake improvement plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England will publish a Breast Screening Programme Uptake Improvement Review this year, to help improve uptake and address inequalities.
The review supports breast screening service providers with national solutions such as:
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Gatwick Runway expansion on noise levels in the East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 21 September 2025 the Transport Secretary gave approval for Gatwick Airport’s application for a Development Consent Order to expand its operations through routine use of its existing northern runway.
The Transport Secretary’s consideration of the application for the development including impacts arising from it are set out in her decision letter of 21 September 2025 which is available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Gatwick Runway expansion for the economic contribution of the airport to the East Grinstead and Uckfield Constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 21 September 2025 the Transport Secretary gave approval for Gatwick Airport’s application for a Development Consent Order to expand its operations through routine use of its existing northern runway.
The Transport Secretary’s consideration of the application for the development including impacts arising from it are set out in her decision letter of 21 September 2025 which is available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Gatwick Runway expansion on levels of emissions in the East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 21 September 2025 the Transport Secretary gave approval for Gatwick Airport’s application for a Development Consent Order to expand its operations through routine use of its existing northern runway.
The Transport Secretary’s consideration of the application for the development including impacts arising from it are set out in her decision letter of 21 September 2025 which is available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of Gatwick Runway expansion on the local economy and the need for workers accommodation in a) the build stage and b) on the operation of the new runway.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 21 September 2025 the Transport Secretary gave approval for Gatwick Airport’s application for a Development Consent Order to expand its operations through routine use of its existing northern runway.
The Transport Secretary’s consideration of the application for the development including impacts arising from it are set out in her decision letter of 21 September 2025 which is available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the level of mobile signal coverage gaps in East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is responsible for reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK and their data provides Government with information on mobile coverage gaps.
Ofcom do not publish mobile coverage data on a regional basis such as for East Sussex and West Sussex. However, in their Connected Nations Annual Report 2025, published on 19 November 2025, it is reported that 1% of the East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency has no 4G geographic coverage from any operator.
10% of premises in this constituency have no 5G (combined standalone and non-standalone) outside from any mobile operator, 68% of premises in the constituency do not have standalone 5G outside from any mobile operator.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the level of mobile signal coverage gaps in West Sussex.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is responsible for reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK and their data provides Government with information on mobile coverage gaps.
Ofcom do not publish mobile coverage data on a regional basis such as for East Sussex and West Sussex. However, in their Connected Nations Annual Report 2025, published on 19 November 2025, it is reported that 1% of the East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency has no 4G geographic coverage from any operator.
10% of premises in this constituency have no 5G (combined standalone and non-standalone) outside from any mobile operator, 68% of premises in the constituency do not have standalone 5G outside from any mobile operator.