Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expand provision of HIV peer support in all areas of England.

The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach in England to drive forward progress and achieve our goal to end new HIV transmissions, AIDS- and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. It includes a key objective to improve the quality of life for people living with HIV, including through peer support.

The Department is working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to share emerging evidence on the effectiveness of voluntary sector-led peer support networks for local commissioners to develop similar models. The forthcoming UKHSA publication of the results of the Positive Voices survey will include data on the experiences of people living with HIV and inform our work to improve the provision of HIV services, including peer support.

A subgroup of the HIV Action Plan implementation Steering Group, providing advice on increasing the number of people retained and re-engaged in care and receiving effective medical care, is also considering the role of peer support services in achieving these outcomes.