Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made the number of prisoners that have been tested for the hepatitis C virus in each prison in each of the last three financial years.

Performance in relation to the blood borne virus opt-out testing programme in adult prisons in England, which includes hepatitis B, C and HIV, is measured at the prison level by NHS England through data collected as part of the Health and Justice Indicators of Performance (HJIPs).

For financial years 2015/16, 2016/17 and quarter one of 2017/18 (the most current period for which published data is available), 11.5, 10.5 and 18.8% of new receptions and transfers to prisons in England have been tested for infection with hepatitis C virus.

HJIP data on the number of tests undertaken for hepatitis C virus has only been published for quarter one of financial year 2017/18. This data indicates that 8,797 tests were undertaken in prisons during that period.

HJIP data on the number of prisoners diagnosed with hepatitis C virus has only been published for quarter one of financial year 2017/18. This data indicates that during this period 1,590 people tested positive for hepatitis C antibody, and of those 434 tested positive for hepatitis C virus as identified by polymerase chain reaction testing.

HJIP data on the number of patients referred for treatment of hepatitis C virus has only been published for quarter one of financial year 2017/18. This data indicates that 226 prisoners were referred into specialist care during this period to have their infection treated