Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2016 to Question 20586, for what reasons the draft Hepatitis C Improvement Framework has been withdrawn.

The Department continues working with Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to advance the public health ambitions set out in the initial framework to establish a strategic approach to tackle hepatitis C.

Both PHE and NHS England are fully committed to improving hepatitis C outcomes including the long-term reduction in transmission of the virus in which treatment has a potentially major role to play.

NHS England has been working on plans for access to treatment during 2016/17 and has committed to produce an operational framework for the treatment of hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England.