HC Deb 30 June 1987 vol 118 cc364-5
5. Mr. Simon Coombs

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the national breast cancer screening programme.

The Secretary of State for Social Services (Mr. John Moore)

The first nationwide breast cancer screening service in the world is to be established in this country within three years. Regional health authorities are making good progress in planning for their first centres, which will be set up by 31 March 1988. The remainder will follow within the next two years. The four training centres for staff involved in screening throughout the country have already been selected and are now being set up. They will be at Guildford, Nottingham, Manchester and Camberwell.

Mr. Coombs

May I be the first on the Conservative Benches to congratulate my right hon. Friend on his appointment and express the hope that in future he will find it possible to spend more of the nation's resources more effectively on those most in need? May I also ask him to confirm to the House that the Government intend to implement in full the recommendations of the Forrest report?

Mr. Moore

Yes, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment made that absolutely clear on 25 February when he announced the publication of the Forrest report and the acceptance of its proposals and decisions. While thanking my hon. Friend for his remarks, may I also confirm that what all of us on both sides of the Chamber ought to be concerned about is the effective use of national resources for caring.

Mr. Wigley

Will the Secretary of State confirm that in taking on the full recommendations of the Forrest report the Government will make available all the necessary financial resources to achieve immediate implementation?

Mr. Moore

Comments on resources were made quite clear on 25 February : £6 million in the first year, £13 million in the second year and £22 million in the third year. That will allow, as was also made clear in the statement, not simply for screening but for assessment of the diagnoses and for treatment.

Mr. Dobson

Is the Secretary of State really satisfied with a breast cancer screening system that will not screen any women under the age of 50 or over the age of 65?

Mr. Moore

I am satisfied that, unlike some Opposition Members, the Government took precisely the advice that was given in the Forrest report. When it was published in 1986 the Forrest report concluded that the effectiveness of screening by mammography has not so far been demonstrated in women under 50 years of age. Out of some 15,000 deaths from breast cancer in the United Kingdom, over 13,000 are among women over 50. Therefore, it is quite clear that the Government sought to implement precisely the Forrest recommendations. As for women under the age of 50, the Government have made it clear that research will continue to be pursued not only through Professor Vessey but through the Medical Research Council. As for women over the age of 65, they may avail themselves of the service, but it is not specifically geared to them in the first instance.