Lord Cashman
Main Page: Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated - Life peer)(2 days, 2 hours ago)
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Baroness Hyde of Bemerton (Lab)
I congratulate the noble Lord on his appointment as the incoming chair of the Terrence Higgins Trust and on all his excellent work in this area to date. The ring-fenced public health grant funds local authorities to provide open-access sexual health services, including PrEP. The grant rose to over £3.8 billion in 2025-26, the biggest real-terms increase for a decade. The HIV action plan is backed by over £170 million and includes action on innovative PrEP provision. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning services and are best placed to do so, and can use the NHS shared business services framework to procure both online and postal PrEP.
Lord Cashman (Non-Afl)
My Lords, I refer to my register of interests, particularly as a patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust. I congratulate the Government on their HIV Action Plan for England, 2025 to 2030—and previous Governments. This is an example of what we can achieve when we work together across the political spectrum. However, can the Minister say how we will connect with the 5,000 people who are currently living with diagnosed HIV but not accessing treatment? These people are at risk of becoming seriously ill—indeed, some already have. I look forward to the Minister’s reply on this urgent issue.
Baroness Hyde of Bemerton (Lab)
I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Cashman, for all his work in this area. The HIV action plan committed £9 million over three years to establish that first retention and re-engagement initiative. It is a core part of the plan and is intended to support people diagnosed with HIV who, as the noble Lord said, are not currently retained in specialist care, and to help people re-engage where perhaps they have fallen out, and to restart effective treatment and achieve viral suppression. It will amplify existing work within local services and partner with the voluntary and community sector and industry to increase the number of patients who are re-engaged in their care. Detailed plans for that national retention and re-engagement initiative will be set out in due course.