Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had discussions with NHS England on the potential merits of (a) lowering the thresholds for initiation of treatment for chronic hepatitis B and (b) expanding opt-out testing for blood borne viruses in areas estimated to have high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B relative to the rest of the country.

Management of care for patients with Hepatitis B (HBV) is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs). National clinical guidelines for monitoring HBV are published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

NHS England is identifying opportunities to build on the very successful programme to eliminate Hepatitis C by ensuring for example, that the Emergency Department opt-out testing programme, which has plans for expansion, includes testing for HBV as well as HIV and Hepatitis C.

NHS England will continue to seek to identify opportunities to align elimination strategies wherever possible in partnership with ICBs, who can respond to local differences in HBV prevalence.