Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand the National Respiratory Audit Programme to include interstitial lung disease.

Every three years, all National Clinical Audits, including the National Respiratory Audit Programme, go through a process to decide whether they will be recommissioned, which includes determining any variation of the clinical areas covered. Any representations to expand the current programme will be considered as part of that process.

Commissioning responsibility for interstitial lung disease (ILD) has been delegated to integrated care boards to facilitate joined up care and the better configuration of services to meet local needs. The current national service specification describes the standards required of clinical teams to support patients physically and emotionally with the diagnosis and management of people with ILD. The Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group is looking to update the national service specification during 2027/28, including a commissioning plan to support local implementation.