Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to develop a strategy for tackling and treating TB throughout the UK.

The Collaborative Tuberculosis (TB) Strategy for England 2015-2020¹ was launched in January 2015. It lays out 10 key ‘areas for actions’ needed to achieve a year on year decrease in TB incidence, a reduction in health inequalities and, ultimately, the elimination of TB as a public health problem in England.

Since the strategy was launched Public Health England, together with NHS England, have formed a TB Strategy implementation team and established seven TB control boards across England. These boards are leading the local delivery of the 10 key ‘areas for action’.

As health is a devolved matter, Ministers do not regularly discuss these issues, however research and evidence of best practice is made available throughout the United Kingdom.

¹Public Health England. Collaborative Tuberculosis Strategy for England 2015 to 2020 [Internet]. 2015. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/collaborative-tuberculosis-strategy-for-england