To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women aged between 50 and 70 years are required to wait more than three years between breast cancer screenings in (a) Surrey Primary Care Trust and (b) England; what estimate her Department has made of the attendance take-up rate of women aged between 50 and 70 years attending breast cancer screenings in each area; and if she will make a statement. (127578)

Surrey Primary Care Trust is covered by the breast screening unit based at the Jarvis Centre, Guildford. According to figures from January to March 2006, the average interval between screens for women at the Jarvis Centre was 33 months, and 92 per cent. of women were screened within 36 months of their previous screen. In England the average interval between screens for the same period was 36 months, with 68 per cent. of women being screened within 36 months of their previous screen.

We take the issue of the 36-month standard between screens very seriously. That is why Professor Mike Richards, the National Cancer Director, wrote to the chief executives of all 10 strategic health authorities in England on 9 February 2007 highlighting the importance of maintaining the 36-month interval.