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 potential merits of introducing a national prostate cancer screening programme.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which advises ministers on all screening matters, commissioned an evidence review modelling the clinical effectiveness and cost of several approaches to prostate cancer screening. This included different potential ways of screening the whole population and targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher-than-average risk, such as black men or men with a family history of cancer.

The modelling and evidence review are now complete, and the reports are being considered by the UK NSC and experts. Subject to no further revisions being required, the UK NSC plans to start a three-month public consultation towards the end of 2025. After this, the UK NSC will make a recommendation about screening for prostate cancer. Ministers will then be asked to consider whether to accept the recommendation.