Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) reduce disparities in access to cervical screening, (b) increase cervical screening rates and (c) improve cervical cancer outcomes within high-risk populations.

A range of national improvements and innovations are being implemented to help address disparities, and increase uptake in cervical screening. In some areas appointments can now be made in any primary care setting rather than just your general practice, are available during evenings and on weekends, and can be made via integrated sexual health clinics. In addition, laboratories that analyse samples can now operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to accommodate surges in capacity.

We are currently working to see if an offer of self-sampling for cervical cancer screening would improve the uptake of people screened. As this method may reduce barriers that prevent people from engaging with the screening offer, including availability of appointments, physical disability, and past trauma.

The YouScreen study which has recently been published, provides evidence on offering a self-sampling test to non-attenders in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) plans to review this study once evidence has been collated.

In addition, an in-service evaluation is being commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to determine whether self-sampling could be offered as an option to everyone eligible for cervical screening. The findings from this evaluation will be used to inform any recommendations made by the UK NSC.

Through cervical screening and through our human papillomavirus vaccination programme we aim to reduce cervical cancer numbers in line with the World Health Organization’s commitment for the elimination of cervical cancer.