Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people who have already taken part in cancer screening and are required to have follow up tests are receiving those tests during the covid-19 outbreak.

National Health Service cancer screening services (breast, bowel, cervical) have been affected by a range of clinical and operational impacts during COVID-19, and some services at local level have rescheduled appointments and invitations as a result.

Services are now focused on restoring appointments for the highest priority patient populations first, including those already some way along the screening pathway. This will be followed by a full reinstatement of other impacted parts of each screening programme pathway, including any further diagnosis and onward referral to treatment. NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked NHS public health commissioners and their providers to provide follow up tests for people who have had positive screening tests, where they have resources and facilities do so, and where it can be done safely for the public and staff.