Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve (a) gender parity, (b) equitable investment and (c) the focus on women for HIV (i) prevention, (ii) research, (iii) data and (iv) services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to ensuring that everyone benefits equally from HIV prevention, treatment, and care, and the Department, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), NHS England, and a broad range of system partners are working together to develop a new HIV Action Plan which we aim to publish this year.
We know from the UKHSA’s latest data that women are not benefitting equally from the progress made on HIV as other key groups are, and as part of the new HIV Action Plan we are exploring ways to improve this. The plan will be informed by the UKHSA’s annual data, including the monitoring and evaluation report, which sets out key indicators to track progress towards our 2030 ambitions, including by gender. This data also helps system partners to understand where services can be improved and made more accessible to key populations.
The Department supports research and development, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which has commissioned research focused on women living with HIV, including the impact of menopause on HIV-positive women's wellbeing and engagement with HIV care, and the intersectional experiences of black women in the digitalisation of sexual and reproductive healthcare, including but not limited to HIV. In addition, the NIHR is funding a £20 million research project to evaluate an expansion of HIV opt-out testing in 47 emergency departments in England where HIV prevalence is high. Emergency department opt-out testing has successfully targeted those who are unlikely to engage with local sexual health services, such as women, and results from the research will be considered in the development of the new plan.
There has also been significant progress through the Department’s national HIV Prevention Programme, which supports communities disproportionately affected by HIV, including women, in particular black African and heterosexual women. The programme delivers National HIV Testing Week, aimed at improving testing and increasing awareness of HIV prevention. During 2024 Testing Week, self-testing was particularly popular amongst women, with a nearly 41% increase in total self-testing orders compared with 2023.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding and resources are being allocated to support ongoing clinical trials and research for HIV vaccines within the UK.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research through the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds clinical research into HIV as well as vaccine development, however, it is not currently funding any trials on HIV vaccines. The NIHR welcomes research proposals on candidates that are ready to be trialled in humans.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the speed of the (a) development and (b) approval of effective HIV vaccines.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to maximising the United Kingdom’s potential to lead the world in clinical research, with the aim of ensuring that all patients, including those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
The Department is working closely with the National Health Service, industry, academia, research regulators and charities to make clinical research in the UK more efficient, more competitive and more accessible. We expect these efforts to attract more commercial investment in clinical research and yield a broad and diverse portfolio of clinical trials in the UK, including clinical trials for HIV patients.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is ready to assess any market authorisation applications for HIV vaccines against high standards of quality, safety and efficacy. A standard assessment would take up to 210 days to complete.
The MHRA has several routes to support access to innovative medicines for patients with conditions with unmet need. One such route for doing so is the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS), and the entry for the scheme is a Promising Innovative Medicine (PIM) Designation. If a PIM Designation was awarded, the application would then continue under the EAMS, where it would be assessed for an EAMS Scientific Opinion, which if awarded would need to be renewed annually. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-the-early-access-to-medicines-scheme-eams
Another route is the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP), which is focused on getting the most transformative new medicines to patients in the UK health system more quickly. The ILAP is the only end-to-end access pathway in the world where the developer can work collaboratively with the national health system, the regulator, and Health Technology Assessment bodies. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovative-licensing-and-access-pathway-ilap
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to expand access to preventative HIV care beyond sexual health services.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is committed to ensuring equality and equity of access to HIV prevention and treatment for all. We recognise that testing is the best way to determine your HIV status, and to ensure people can take appropriate measures to protect themselves and others from transmitting or acquiring HIV.
We are making excellent progress with the blood borne virus opt-out testing programme in the highest HIV prevalence areas, helping us reach those who do not typically engage with sexual health services. In its first 28 months, the programme has identified 1,360 undiagnosed or untreated HIV cases, and over 5,000 cases of untreated or undiagnosed hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
The Department has commissioned officials for advice on how to progress the development of a new HIV Action Plan, including content and scope, which we aim to publish by summer 2025.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle inequalities in access to preventative HIV care and (b) end new HIV transmissions by 2030.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
HIV is a key priority for the Government, and we have commissioned officials for advice on how to progress the development of a new HIV Action Plan to end new HIV transmissions within England by 2030, with a strong focus on tackling inequalities, HIV care access and outcomes, and preventive HIV care, which we aim to publish by summer 2025.
We will continue working with local government and other partners, together with the UK Health Security Agency and NSH England, to support local planning, commissioning, and delivery of high quality and effective public services over the long term.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of levels of inequality in HIV (a) care access and (b) outcomes.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
HIV is a key priority for the Government, and we have commissioned officials for advice on how to progress the development of a new HIV Action Plan to end new HIV transmissions within England by 2030, with a strong focus on tackling inequalities, HIV care access and outcomes, and preventive HIV care, which we aim to publish by summer 2025.
We will continue working with local government and other partners, together with the UK Health Security Agency and NSH England, to support local planning, commissioning, and delivery of high quality and effective public services over the long term.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support local commissioning areas to (a) identify and (b) address HIV inequalities.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
HIV is a key priority for the Government, and we have commissioned officials for advice on how to progress the development of a new HIV Action Plan to end new HIV transmissions within England by 2030, with a strong focus on tackling inequalities, HIV care access and outcomes, and preventive HIV care, which we aim to publish by summer 2025.
We will continue working with local government and other partners, together with the UK Health Security Agency and NSH England, to support local planning, commissioning, and delivery of high quality and effective public services over the long term.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish a new HIV Action Plan.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
HIV is a key priority for the Government, and we have commissioned officials for advice on how to progress the development of a new HIV Action Plan to end new HIV transmissions within England by 2030, with a strong focus on tackling inequalities, HIV care access and outcomes, and preventive HIV care, which we aim to publish by summer 2025.
We will continue working with local government and other partners, together with the UK Health Security Agency and NSH England, to support local planning, commissioning, and delivery of high quality and effective public services over the long term.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure HIV health promotion campaigns are (a) culturally appropriate and (b) effective in reaching (i) under-served and (ii) at-risk communities.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is committed to ensuring equality and equity of access to HIV prevention and treatment for all. We have commissioned officials for advice on how to progress the development of a new HIV Action Plan, which we aim to publish by summer 2025. This will include seeking advice from our community and voluntary sector partners on how best to engage and consider the specific needs of under-served and at-risk communities.
HIV Prevention England (HPE) is the national HIV prevention programme for England. It delivers a nationally co-ordinated programme of HIV prevention work for communities at higher risk of transmission such as black African heterosexual communities and gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. HPE is funded by the Department, who have appointed the Terrence Higgins Trust, a national charity who campaign about, and provide services related to, sexual heath and HIV, to deliver the programme from 2021 to 2025.
The programme has recently hosted their 6th biannual conference, which brought together over 200 representatives from the HIV sector to share ideas, best practice, and research, drawing attention to the need to prioritise impactful and equitable interventions, considering the specific needs of those at greater risk. The presentations, workshops and materials will be made available online at HPE’s website next week.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the implementation of recommendations given by The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on the routine provision of (a) MPOX vaccination and (b) the targeted use of the meningococcal B vaccination for gonorrhoea prevention.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
On 10 November 2023 the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) issued advice on creating targeted, routine vaccination programmes for the prevention of Mpox and gonorrhoea.
Officials across the Department, the UK Health Security Agency, and NHS England are developing policy options based on the JCVI’s advice. A decision on the vaccination programme for the prevention of gonorrhoea will be taken following the outcome of this process. The policy position on the Mpox vaccination programme is being updated to reflect the emerging international concerns, and a decision on this is expected shortly.