Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to consult key sector stakeholders before final decisions are taken on proposed sexual health reporting amendments included in her Department's consultation entitled Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010: proposed amendments which closed on 15 November 2023.

Patient confidentiality is of vital importance in sexual health to retain patients’ trust in services, and to encourage access to advice, testing, diagnosis, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. A public consultation seeking views on proposals to amend the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations (HPNR) 2010 was held between 12 July and 15 November 2023. This included a commitment that any decision on adding specific sexually transmitted infections to schedule 2 of the regulations would be shaped by consultation responses and engagement with stakeholders.

The Department and the UK Health Security Agency are considering the responses to the consultation and are grateful for stakeholders’ continued engagement on this topic.