Petition · past parliament

Keep cervical screening at 3 year intervals not 5

Rejected 15 signatures

What the petition asks

On average there are 3197 cases of cervical cancer a year with only 51% surviving this type of cancer for more than 10 years.
99.8% of cervical cancer cases are preventable (according to cancer research UK). INCREASING THE LENGTH OF TIME BETWEEN CERVICAL SCREENING IS PUTTING LIVES AT RISK
From 1 January 2022, if you are aged 25-49, the gap between routine tests has now changed from 3 to 5 years, meaning an additional 2 years between cervical screening and potentially seeing further deaths from cervical cancer!
Please return to screening every three years

Why it was rejected

It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.

Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action. We're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do.

Changes to cervical screening in Wales were introduced in January 2022 following the recommendations of the UK-wide National Screening Committee. The Welsh Government, not the UK Government or Parliament, is responsible for the Welsh cervical screening programme. You can read more about the change here:
https://gov.wales/written-statement-change-cervical-screening-interval

In England, individuals aged 25-49 will currently continue to receive invitations for routine cervical screening every 3 years. You can find out more about screening programmes across the UK (including cervical screening) on the National Screening Committee website:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/screening-programmes-across-the-uk

You could start a new petition relating to the cervical screening programme in England, if there are specific changes you would like to see happen.

Timeline

8 Jan 2022 Petition opened for signatures
12 Jan 2022 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 15
Status Rejected
Rejected 12 Jan 2022

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.