SCREENING MATTERS CAMPAIGN

Early day motion 961, tabled 19 February 2008 by Alan Meale (Labour). Signed by 93 members.

That this House congratulates Cancer Research UK, Beating Bowel Cancer, Bobby Moore Fund, Bowel Cancer UK, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Campaign, Breast Cancer Care and Jo's Trust on coming together to celebrate the Screening Matters campaign; notes that screening matters because it saves lives; notes that 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the introduction of breast screening; further notes that breast screening saves an estimated 1,400 women's lives a year in England, that early detection through cervical screening together with treatment can prevent 75 per cent. of cervical cancers from developing and that bowel cancer screening, currently at different stages of being rolled out across the UK, is projected to save at least 20,000 lives over the next 20 years if just 60 per cent. of those eligible undertake the procedure; encourages right hon. and hon. Members to find out how they can support the campaign at www.cancercampaigns.org.uk and by writing to their primary care trust and promoting the importance of screening in their constituencies; and urges the Government to work with the NHS to screen at least three million more people over the next five years, reduce the variation in screening across the UK, reach out to people eligible for screening who are not taking part and provide the best possible screening programmes through funding, staffing and measuring success.

Signatures by party: Labour 54, Liberal Democrat 16, Conservative 11, DUP 5, Social Democratic and Labour Party 3, Plaid Cymru 2, Independent 1, UUP 1.