To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts use digital mammography for breast cancer screening; and if he will make a statement. (175575)

We do not have this information in the format requested, however we do have it by breast screening programme centre. Exeter, Norwich, Manchester, Coventry, St Bartholomew’s, St. Georges, Derby and Addenbrookes all use digital mammography for breast screening. Nationally this means that there are 31 digital mammography sets in the national health service breast screening programme, some are part of equipment evaluations.

The recently published Cancer Reform Strategy recommends that breast screening units should work with the NHS breast screening programme to develop business cases for digital mammography, that primary care trusts will need to give high priority to full implementation, with all units having at least one full-field digital mammography set by 2010. All women under 50 routinely screened should have Direct Digital available for assessment visits by 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 1196W, on breast cancer screening to Question 171702 of 17 December 2007, what assessment he has made of the reasons for Uttlesford’s performance on breast cancer screening; and what steps he is taking to improve that performance. (176678)

It is for strategic health authorities (SHAs) working in partnership with their primary care trusts (PCTs), local breast screening services and stakeholders to provide appropriate breast screening services for their local populations.

However, The East of England SHA has advised that a breast screening issue in West Essex, may have impacted on Uttlesford PCT (old PCT area) not reaching the 75 per cent. national aspirational standard for breast screening in that area.

The East of England SHA has advised that any backlog will be cleared by April 2008.