Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making c-peptide testing available on the NHS for type one diabetics in England.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service to drive best practice. NICE’s clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of type 1 diabetes does not recommend routinely measuring C‑peptide or diabetes‑specific autoantibody titres to confirm type 1 diabetes in adults.

NICE guidelines are developed by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and through extensive engagement with stakeholders. NICE is currently updating its guidance on the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and expects to publish final recommendations in March 2022.