Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to increase (a) rates of early detection and (b) diagnostic times for prostate cancer in the last 12 months.

The Department is working with NHS England to improve early detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer. To increase rates of early detection for prostate cancer, NHS England is redesigning pathways to maximise capacity. In October 2022 NHS England published ‘Best Practice Timed Pathway’ for suspected prostate cancer. This guidance sets out how diagnosis can be achieved within 28 days for the suspected prostate cancer pathway. The guidance includes using a magnetic resonance imaging first strategy to reduce biopsy and move necessary biopsies from theatre into clinic. NHS England and NHS Improvement introduced a new financial incentive for 2022/23 through the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme to support the delivery of the pathway.