Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure equitable access to testing for prostate cancer in Bromsgrove constituency.

The Government is committed to improving outcomes for people with prostate cancer and reducing inequalities in access to diagnosis across England, including in Bromsgrove.

The National Cancer Plan for England, published in February 2026, sets out action to improve earlier diagnosis, speed up treatment, and ensure that patients can benefit from advances in cancer care, regardless of where they live. Patients across England will benefit from expanded diagnostic capacity, including community diagnostic centres, improved use of data to identify delays, and the rollout of innovative technologies and diagnostic pathways.

NHS England and integrated care boards are supported to identify and address unwarranted variation in access to diagnostics, so that patients can access high‑quality testing regardless of where they live.

The Plan is backed by significant funding committed by the Government at the Spending Review, including £200 million in 2026/27 for local Cancer Alliances. Cancer Alliances are expected to use this funding to deliver local early diagnosis plans, including activity to improve awareness and access to testing for cancers such as prostate cancer, based on local need. In Bromsgrove, as elsewhere in England, access to testing is delivered in line with national standards and local commissioning decisions made by integrated care boards, supported by Cancer Alliances.

The Government has accepted the UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation to introduce a targeted prostate cancer screening programme for men with a known BRCA2 gene variant and a family history of prostate, breast, ovarian, or pancreatic cancer. Screening using the prostate specific antigen test will be offered to all eligible men between the ages of 45 and 61 years old every two years starting from 2027.

On 2 June 2026, the Government announced up to £20 million of investment to improve prostate cancer research and treatment, including up to £18 million to expand the TRANSFORM trial so that all eligible Black men will be invited to take part in stage 2. The TRANSFORM trial, which is co-funded by Prostate Cancer UK and the National Institute of Health and Care Research, the Department’s research arm, is testing the best ways to detect prostate cancer earlier and save more lives, while avoiding unnecessary treatment and the associated harms.