Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK National Screening Committee's draft prostate cancer screening recommendation does not discourage testing among higher risk men, including black men and those with a family history, and that those men receive clear information to support informed decision-making; and whether they will ensure that those men can access a test if they request one.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting MP) will consider the final recommendation of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) on screening for prostate cancer when it is received. At that point, he will decide on implementation, including any changes to guidance around testing that may be required.

It is anticipated that the final recommendation will be provided in early 2026 after the conclusion of a 12-week consultation which opened on 28 November 2025. This seeks views on an evidence review and a draft recommendation to:

• offer a targeted national prostate cancer screening programme to men with confirmed BRCA1/2 gene variants every two years, from 45 years old to 61 years old;
• not recommend population screening;
• not recommend targeted screening of Black men;
• not recommend targeted screening of men with family history; and
• collaborate with the Transform trial team to answer outstanding questions on screening effectiveness for black men and men with a family history as soon as trial data becomes available, and await results of the study to develop and trial a more accurate test than PSA alone, to improve the balance of benefit and harm of screening.