Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken since the 2019 publication of 'Asymptomatic Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colorectal Cancer Screening Programs' by Farrukh and Mayberry in Gastrointestinal Disorders in respect of its findings of differences and discrimination in the delivery of (1) colorectal screening in healthy people, and (2) care and surveillance of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

If someone is detected during bowel screening to have blood in their faeces, then found to have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) through follow up tests they are referred to the symptomatic service for onward management and surveillance. They are then offered screening every two years along with ongoing monitoring and surveillance, the timeframes of which are detailed below.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)’s guideline on colorectal cancer prevention was published in March 2011 and updated in September 2022. It recommends using colonoscopy to check for signs of bowel cancer in people aged 18 years old and over with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. The guidance recommends that follow-up and ongoing colonoscopic surveillance should be arranged at regular intervals for people with IBD and tubular adenoma as follows:

- Low risk: offer colonoscopy at five years;

- Intermediate risk: offer colonoscopy at three years; or

- High risk: offer colonoscopy at one year.

A copy of the guidance is attached.

We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to have due regard to relevant NICE guidelines when commissioning services. It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, in line with these NICE guidelines.