Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with integrated care boards on reducing waiting times for breast cancer treatment in Slough constituency.

The Government and the local integrated care board (ICB) has taken action to reduce waiting times for breast cancer treatment. This includes expansion of one-stop breast clinics and improved access to breast imaging. Action has also been taken to use enhanced digital triage to prioritise highest-risk cases. Moreover, targeted action has been taken to reduce the proportion of patients diagnosed at stage 3 or stage 4, with early signs of improvement in the timeliness of staging and biopsy results.

Additionally, there are plans for extended-hours breast imaging sessions for Slough Community Diagnostic Centre after the scheduled opening in March 2026. Moreover, action has been taken across the local ICB to safeguard capacity for triple assessment and surgery. Participation in the national AI-enabled breast cancer early detection programme will help to support improved accuracy and faster reporting.