Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS bodies regarding a future screening programme for early-stage type 1 diabetes.

The Government is guided by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. It is only where the UK NSC is confident that there is robust evidence that to screen would provide more good than harm that a screening programme is recommended, as all medical interventions carry an inherent risk.

The UK NSC received a submission via its 2024 open call process to consider screening for autoimmune type 1 diabetes through blood testing. Now that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published its recommendation on the drug teplizumab, the UK NSC will look again at this open call submission and consider whether a fresh review of the evidence for type 1 diabetes screening should be undertaken.

The UK NSC is aware of the Early Surveillance for Autoimmune Diabetes study and looks forward to receiving the results of this study when the trial is complete.