Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to publish NHS England’s uptake improvement plan to increase uptake of attendance for routine breast screening to the 80% target.

The National Health Service is planning to publish a Breast Screening Programme Uptake Improvement Plan to help improve uptake and address inequalities.

The plan supports breast screening service providers by developing national solutions, such as introducing digital options for sending out invitations and managing appointments, raising awareness of the importance of screening through the media, and facilitating learning and gathering evidence to inform programme policy, pathway changes, and guidance. Discovery work commenced with key stakeholders in 2023/24 to support the development of the plan, which highlights key deliverables from 2024/25 alongside future priorities. The programme of work will continue to evolve, reflecting and learning from ongoing improvements to the programme, including from data intelligence and digital innovation.