Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to (a) increase the uptake of screening, (b) encourage early diagnosis and (c) improve the lifestyles of people who have had treatment for primary cancer in the Irish community living in England to reduce the disproportionate incidence and mortality from cancers among that community.

The independent Cancer Taskforce reported significant variation across England in screening uptake, patient experience and survival outcomes in the 2015 Cancer Strategy.

Public Health England and NHS England are working with general practices with the lowest levels of screening uptake to understand barriers and mechanisms for improvement.

In December 2016 NHS England announced that a £200 million fund will be available to Cancer Alliances and the national cancer vanguard over the next two years to specifically support the areas the Cancer Taskforce’s strategy estimated would need additional investment, including supporting earlier diagnosis and the full roll out of the Recovery Package across all communities.