Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS England publication entitled Accelerating genomic medicine in the NHS, published on 12 October 2022, what steps his Department has taken to embed that strategy.

In October 2022, NHS England published the first NHS Genomics Strategy, Accelerating Genomic Medicine in the NHS, which outlines the vision for embedding genomics in the National Health Service over the next five years.

To date, the NHS Genomic Medicine Service is on track to deliver the commitments outlined in the strategy for 2023/24, including continuing to review the latest scientific evidence to inform and update the National Genomic Test Directory; launching a rapid whole genome sequencing service in October 2022; exploring the introduction of innovative genomic sequencing techniques, which can be applied to a range of clinical applications, including cancer; continuing to extend the use of molecular diagnostics and increasing the number of tests offered; establishing a NHS Data and Digital Board; and progressing work to establish NHS Genomic Networks of Excellence, that will play a key role in bringing together stakeholders to accelerate evidence generation to support future commissioning decisions for innovative genomics services in the NHS.