Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 27968, what the opening and closing dates are for the public consultation of the UK National Screening Committee's review of group B streptococcus policy; and on what date the meeting at which a decision will be made is planned.

In December 2015 the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) commissioned an update review into antenatal screening for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) as per its published process. A public consultation is expected to be held in the autumn for a three month period. The UK NSC will then review the recommendation for GBS at the successive meeting. Specific dates will be announced in due course.