To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made in implementing a national breast screening service; and if he will make a statement.

The table lists those breast screening centres in England which had become operational by the end of 1989.Under the programme, all women aged between 50 and 64 years will be invited to be screened by mammography every three years; older women will be screened on request. The purpose of screening is to detect changes in breast tissue which might be cancerous at an early stage when treatment can be simple and most likely to be effective.Plans for extending the breast screening programme to cover all district health authorities in England are well advanced; a full nationwide service comprising about 80 centres (including mobile units) is expected to become operational during 1990.