Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of postal delays on national screening programmes, including bowel, cervical and breast cancer screening.

Our National Health Service screening programmes reduce mortality and morbidity from cancer and other conditions in the population who appear healthy and have no symptoms, by detecting conditions at an earlier, more treatable stage.

Bowel cancer screening relies on the provision of faecal immunochemical test (FIT) home testing kits to those eligible people. The bowel cancer screening hubs have a contract in place which includes 48 hour tracked returns via Royal Mail. This allows participants to return completed FIT kits, which must then be tested within 14 days of completion. Adherence to the 48-hour return is monitored within the contract by NHS trusts. If a kit is returned after 14 days, it cannot be tested so a new kit is sent out to the participant.

Multiple incidents of late returns by Royal Mail, some of up to a month, have been reported across England. However, there is no evidence from customer contact centre that enquiries and complaints on this issue have been increasing.

Since June 2025, invitations have been digitised and we are using the NHS App and text messaging. The figures for January and February 2026 show that approximately 100,000, or 11%, of all invitations are sent via Royal Mail.

Since October 2025, normal result correspondence has been digitised using NHS App. Figures for January and February 2026 show that approximately 207,000, 38%, of normal results are sent via Royal Mail.

We will be digitising correspondence for results requiring referral for further assessment by the end of March 2026 using the NHS App. Currently, these results are sent out by first class business mail which is prioritised by Royal Mail, which will continue if it is not possible to send by the NHS App.

Cervical screening sample takers, for example, general practice nurses, are flagging with patients that results may be sent to them via the NHS App and are encouraging them to switch on notifications on the app.

Providers have reported delays in invitations for screening and assessment appointments being delivered. Where receipt has been very close to, or after the appointment date, another appointment has been made.

Providers send out SMS text message reminders ahead of appointments, which should potentially reduce the impact of delayed post.

Additionally, where providers are aware of local postal delays, they have been advised to telephone women ahead of appointment, particularly in the case of assessment appointments. Some services have also introduced digital invitation letters at a local level.