Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps with the Secretary of State for Justice to ensure that opt-out reception testing for (a) hepatitis C and (b) other blood borne viruses will continue in prisons after elimination metrics have been met.

Individuals who have been in prison or other secure and detained settings are at a higher risk of Hepatitis C (HCV) infections. That is why the NHS England HCV elimination programme has significant focus on testing and treatment in prisons and probation centres, including the successful blood-borne virus opt-out reception testing in prisons.

The 2030 World Health Organization HCV elimination goal goes beyond meeting specific elimination metrics but asks countries to meet sustained levels of HCV reduction. To do this beyond 2030, the Department for Health and Social Care, in partnership with NHS England, the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service, the UK Health Security Agency and other stakeholders, are continuing to explore programmes that target groups most at risk of HCV infections.