Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of regional variations in bowel cancer survival rates; and what steps his Department is taking to help tackle these variations.

The National Bowel Cancer Audit is currently underway which aims to improve care for bowel cancer patients and ensure equity in services.

The bowel cancer screening faecal immunochemical test (FIT) kit, introduced in England from April 2019, has increased uptake of bowel cancer screening. FIT has increased accessibility as it requires one stool sample, replacing multiple samples used by its predecessor. Information for patients on bowel cancer screening and how to use the screening kit is available in different languages and formats, including easy read and animations, to increase awareness and address potential variations in patient outcomes.