HC Deb 27 January 2000 vol 343 c332W
Mr. Paul Marsden

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of the two pilot studies into a bowel cancer screening programme. [105071]

Yvette Cooper

The two sites of the bowel cancer screening pilot have made considerable progress and screening is now expected to start in March. New staff have been appointed, clinical datasets and protocols are nearly complete and IT systems are now operational. Considerable time has also been spent preparing leaflets to give prospective patients the ability to make informed choices about participating in the pilot.