Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in genomic testing activity through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service since April 2023; and what steps he is taking to help support access to genomic testing.

Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (NHS GMS) and delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (the Test Directory), which includes tests for over 7,000 rare diseases with an associated genetic cause and over 200 cancer clinical indications. Further information on the Test Directory is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-genomic-test-directories/

Testing is available for all eligible patients across the whole of England and defined healthcare professionals who confirm the patient meets the Test Directory eligibility criteria, can refer their patient for testing. The rate of testing has increased steadily over the period in question from approximately 64,000 tests per month in April 2023 to 70,000 tests per month in April 2025, and the data from April 2026 is yet to be validated. The growth in testing reflects the increase in the type of genomic tests available on the National Genomic Test Directory, informed by Service Developments within the NHS GMS, implementation of genomic testing to support access to medicines, particularly in cancer, and improved access to existing testing. It is expected that demand for genomic tests will continue to rise in the coming years.

NHS England captures Patient Level Contract Monitoring data across the NHS GMS to facilitate a national approach to reporting and validating activity data and turnaround times, enabling NHS England to both understand activity volumes, detect any backlogs, and work with the NHS GLHs to implement improvement activities.