Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with the devolved administrations to assess the potential merits of introducing a UK-wide screening programme for prostate cancer.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises ministers and the National Health Service in the four countries of the United Kingdom about all aspects of screening. The implementation of any UK NSC screening recommendation is a devolved matter.

Officials from the devolved governments are observers at all UK NSC meetings, and the Department’s screening policy officials hold monthly catch-up meetings with their counterparts in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sharing planning and development work across the four countries enables working in parallel where there is a shared desire to do so.