Written Question·Department of Health and Social Care·UIN 85148
Cervical Cancer: Screening
Tabled: 27 October 2025
Answered: 12 November 2025
Question
Jim Shannon
Democratic Unionist Party — Strangford
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of lowering the age at which women are offered their first smear test.
Answer
Ashley DaltonThe cervical screening age in the United Kingdom was officially changed from 20 to 25 years old in 2003. This decision was made by the Advisory Committee on Cervical Cancer Screening which advised the NHS Cervical Screening Programme to raise the starting...
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