Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the reasons for the delay in delivery of data regarding blood folate level results in the latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey, and whether that delay added to the cost of the Survey.

Blood folate analyses in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) were carried out by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) laboratories in the United States. The delay in delivery of results was due to the laboratory’s quality control procedure identifying a problem with the analysis for whole blood folate which could not be resolved quickly. Scientists at the CDC identified and resolved the problem and all samples were reanalysed for whole blood folate during 2014. The delayed results were published on 20 March 2015.

The cost of resolving the analytical problem and reanalysing the blood samples was borne by the survey contractors. There was no additional cost to Government.