Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what urgent steps the Government will take to tackle increases in rates of (a) gonorrhoea and (b) syphilis.

In June 2019, Public Health England (PHE) published a Syphilis Action Plan to improve the detection, surveillance and clinical management of syphilis at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/syphilis-public-health-england-action-plan

To reduce the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including gonorrhoea and syphilis, PHE launched the ‘Protect Against STIs’ health promotion campaign in 2017/18 to promote condom use and positive sexual relationships among 16 to 24-year olds. This campaign can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/protect-against-stis-use-a-condom/home

Additionally, HIV Prevention England has been contracted to deliver a HIV prevention programme aimed at gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men; black Africans; and other groups in whom there is a higher or emerging burden of infection. This programme promotes, among other behaviours, condom use and awareness of STIs including gonorrhoea and syphilis. More information on this programme can be found at the following link:

http://www.hivpreventionengland.org.uk/