Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Health Minister in Northern Ireland regarding the implementation of the most recent National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's guidelines for genetic testing for ovarian cancer.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s clinical guideline on familial breast cancer, published in June 2013, recommends that women with breast or ovarian cancer should be offered genetic testing if their combined BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carrier possibility is 10% or more.

NHS England is considering moving to a lower threshold as part of the annual prioritisation process for funding in 2015-16.

We intend to raise the matter of genetic testing for ovarian cancer patients with the Health Ministers of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in our next regular meeting with them.