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 help (a) increase capacity for and (b) reduce inequalities in access to respiratory diagnosis.

Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are increasing capacity and access to respiratory diagnostic tests such as spirometry and fractional exhaled nitric oxide, and will continue to do so as more sites come online. For example, the first five months of 2025/26 saw an increase in CDC spirometry testing of approximately 2,000 tests per month more than in the previous year.

In addition, 101 CDCs across the country now offer out-of-hours services 12 hours a day, seven days a week, meaning patients across the country can access vital diagnostic tests around busy working lives.