Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the additional number of people expected to be diagnosed with cancer as a result of increases in NHS cancer screening uptake in a) 2026, b) 2027 and c) 2028.

As a Government, we are taking decisive action so that the National Health Service diagnoses cancer earlier and treats it faster.

Last year, we announced the introduction of self-test kits for under-screened women in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. Under-screened women will receive home testing kits starting with those that are the most overdue for screening. This will help tackle deeply entrenched barriers that keep some away from life-saving screening.

In the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, a more sensitive threshold for the bowel screening faecal immunochemical test is being piloted, and if rolled out nationally could find 700 more colorectal cancers per year and 2,000 high risk polyps.

In February 2025, NHS England launched the first ever NHS breast screening campaign nationally to widespread media attention. It ran across television, radio, social media, and outdoor advertising, targeting women of breast screening age, with a focus on those least likely to attend, including younger women, those in deprived areas, ethnic minorities, and disabled women.

This Government is committed to focusing on early intervention and helping people to live longer, healthier lives. These initiatives, among others, mean we expect to identify more people who are living with cancer in 2026, 2027 and 2028, and catch those cancers earlier.