Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on (a) jobs and (b) patient care of the potential reduction of genetic testing facilities in Newcastle.

The Government has welcomed and accepted the recommendations in the Chief Medical Officer for England Annual Report ‘Generation Genome’ published in July 2017. In her report, Dame Sally Davies recommended the recommissioning of genomics services nationally.

NHS England launched a procurement for genomic laboratory services in December 2017, which is still live. The aim of the procurement is to put in place a world-class resource for the National Health Service delivering cutting-edge genomic technology to deliver equitable access for patient benefit. As part of the evaluation NHS England will assess, amongst other areas, the proposed organisational and governance structures of the genomic laboratories and their ability to deliver high quality genomic tests equitably to patients across England.