Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of (a) community liver health checks, (b) primary care pilots and (c) surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma as part of NHS England's early detection of liver cancer programme.

The care of and treatment for patients with cancers, including liver cancer, is a priority for the Government. National Health Service cancer standards have been reformed with the support of clinicians to speed up diagnosis for patients, which means people will receive a diagnosis or have cancer ruled out within 28 days from urgent cancer referral from their general practice. NHS England’s Early diagnosis of Liver Cancer Programme is contributing to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitment to diagnose 75% of all cancers at stage one or two by 2028.  Identifying those at risk and ensuring patients are tested and referred to a surveillance programme, where necessary, will lead to improved patient outcomes.