Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to combat tuberculosis domestically and internationally.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England’s joint Tuberculosis (TB): action plan for England, 2021 to 2026 details actions to achieve a 90% reduction in people with TB by 2035. This is aligned with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) elimination targets. Work to review and update the national action plan, including a call for evidence, is underway.

The Tuberculosis (TB): action plan for England, 2021 to 2026 is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format. The UKHSA’s research and analysis executive summary on TB, updated 16 January 2025, is also available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.

The United Kingdom is a leading donor in the fight against TB. Our £1 billion commitment to the Global Fund, from 2023 to 2025, will provide TB treatment and care for 1.1 million people, screen 20 million people for TB, and provide 41,800 people with treatment for multidrug-resistant TB. This is complemented by our investment in Unitaid, to improve access to key TB products, and our support of WHO and others, to strengthen health systems.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the uptake of vaccinations to combat the spread of diseases.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is aware of the need to improve the uptake of our vaccine programmes.

The Department is working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England to take steps to promote uptake by providing diverse delivery methods, to make getting vaccinated easier, increasing outreach efforts to under-served groups, and raising awareness of the dangers of vaccine preventable diseases. Paid for marketing campaigns to support uptake of routine immunisations, seasonal flu, and COVID-19 vaccinations have been run over the past year, with evaluation showing positive results.

The UKHSA has continued to undertake annual surveys of parents and adolescents to develop an understanding of how knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards immunisation, vaccine safety, and disease severity influence vaccine uptake decision-making.

Along with this work, the Department is also looking at how it can go further, exploring new ways to boost uptake by supplementing the general practice offer already based in communities through teams including community pharmacists and health visitors.

It is vitally important that everyone has their recommended vaccinations, as they are the best way to help protect yourself and your family from these viruses, which can cause serious harm.

Found: During an evidence session on the ‘Silk Commission – 10 years on’, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth told the

Found: Hon David Mundell MP; and, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth