Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of offering additional resources to neighbourhood teams to provide targeted interventions enabling equitable access to (a) HPV vaccination and (b) cervical screening.

As part of our 10-Year Health Plan, we have recently launched the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme, to support systems with the roll-out of neighbourhood health services which will bring together teams of professionals, including pharmacists, to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community.

The Department is working with NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency to encourage high uptake of all immunisation and screening programmes, including in areas where coverage has historically been low, by exploring new, accessible, and innovative delivery models.

The Department is also working with partners to develop options for human papillomavirus (HPV) catch-up vaccination through community pharmacies from 2026, with the ambition to increase the accessibility and uptake of HPV vaccinations among younger adults who have left school, supporting our aim to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.

For cervical screening, primary care networks collaborate across their local neighbourhoods to offer additional appointments to improve access and convenience. Regional commissioners and providers also undertake targeted outreach campaigns. For example, the Living Well initiative in Cheshire and Merseyside offers mobile cervical screening to eligible individuals. The service can reach more individuals by being closer to where people live, work, and shop.

NHS England has also increased the provision of cervical screening sample taking services in integrated sexual health settings, which in turn has helped to improve access for people eligible for screening, especially individuals who would not access general practice or are not registered with a general practice.