Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test.

The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. TheDepartment for Work and Pensions published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and the Department of Health follows that guidance- Family Test Guidance.

The Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance. Within the Department of Health, the Test is considered during the formulation and discussion of policy, rather than being assessed formally through impact assessments.