Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage more women to attend cervical screening appointments; and what recent steps his Department has taken to make cervical screening more accessible.

The national ‘Help us help you’ Cervical Screening Saves Lives campaign ran in February and March 2022 to urge individuals not to ignore a cervical screening invitation and to contact their general practitioner (GP) where an invitation has been missed. In some Primary Care Networks, appointments can be made in any primary care setting in addition to the patient’s GP practice for evenings and weekends and via integrated sexual health clinics.

To support improved uptake, the effectiveness of human papillomavirus self-sampling is being evaluated. This initiative could address some barriers which prevent people from attending for screening, such as physical disability or trauma.