Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential severity of the 2017-18 influenza season.

International surveillance data identifies trends in seasonal influenza across different parts of the world. While this provides useful information, it cannot be assumed that influenza activity observed in other countries predicts the influenza strains which might circulate in the United Kingdom nor the level of seasonal influenza activity.

Public Health England is responsible for monitoring data on influenza activity on a weekly basis during the winter months, and this data is carefully assessed on an ongoing basis. Current data shows low levels of flu activity.