Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with private fertility clinics on their profit levels.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such discussions have taken place with private fertility clinics.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is the UK-wide regulator for fertility treatment but has no powers over the commissioning of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or the cost of fertility treatment. All fertility clinics are free to set their own costs.
The Competition and Markets Authority produced guidance for patients and clinics explaining more about the costs of fertility treatment. It states that costs should be clearly set out to a patient before starting treatment, in order to comply with consumer law. More information is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fertility-clinics-compliance-with-consumer-law-findings-published
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that men accessing fertility services are routinely offered comprehensive diagnostic testing.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care. We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services.
The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion in additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. Further details and allocations will be set out in due course.
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of routine sperm health testing as an indicator of wider physiological health conditions.
All people undergoing fertility treatment in a United Kingdom licenced fertility clinic must, by law, be offered a suitable opportunity for counselling before they begin treatment. Further information can be found on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology website, at the following link:
https://www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/explore-all-treatments/getting-emotional-support/
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to mental health support for people undergoing fertility treatment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care. We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services.
The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion in additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. Further details and allocations will be set out in due course.
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of routine sperm health testing as an indicator of wider physiological health conditions.
All people undergoing fertility treatment in a United Kingdom licenced fertility clinic must, by law, be offered a suitable opportunity for counselling before they begin treatment. Further information can be found on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology website, at the following link:
https://www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/explore-all-treatments/getting-emotional-support/
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of routine sperm health testing as an indicator of wider physiological health conditions.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care. We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services.
The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion in additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. Further details and allocations will be set out in due course.
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of routine sperm health testing as an indicator of wider physiological health conditions.
All people undergoing fertility treatment in a United Kingdom licenced fertility clinic must, by law, be offered a suitable opportunity for counselling before they begin treatment. Further information can be found on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology website, at the following link:
https://www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/explore-all-treatments/getting-emotional-support/
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the performance of NHS-commissioned fertility clinics.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that fertility treatment across the National Health Service in England is subject to variation in access. Work continues between the Department and NHS England to better understand NHS-funded fertility services and the effectiveness of these services.
All fertility clinics offering licensed fertility treatment are regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and must comply with related legislation and guidance. All licensed clinics must be physically inspected every two years to assess their compliance with the law and guidance and inspections ensure the clinic’s services are up to standard. The success rates of HFEA-licensed clinics are published by the HFEA.
Following each inspection, a report identifying both areas of good practice and those that require improvement is presented to a separate licensing committee, to review and make a final decision. The report and committee decision is then published on the HFEA website, on the clinic’s individual Choose a Fertility Clinic webpage, available at the following link:
https://www.hfea.gov.uk/choose-a-clinic/clinic-search/
The HFEA publishes an annual snapshot of regulatory work for the year. The most recent report is available at the following link: