Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the AARS2 genetic disorder; and whether his Department has made funding available for research into that disorder.

We have no plans to make a specific assessment. However, following the publication of the ‘England Rare Diseases Action Plan 2022’ in February 2022, the Department continues to monitor progress on its actions and resolve any barriers to implementation. The second England Rare Diseases Action Plan will be published at the start of 2023 and will report on progress and propose updated and new actions.

The Department funds the majority of research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the last five years, the NIHR has not funded specific research into AARS2 disorder.