Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects to implement HPV vaccinations for (a) boys and (b) men who have sex with men.

The Government is advised on all immunisation matters by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI is considering the potential extension of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme to include adolescent boys and men who have sex with men (MSM).

Following provisional advice issued by the JCVI last year that the HPV vaccine should be offered to MSM aged 16-40 years attending Genito-Urinary Medicine and HIV clinics, if it can be delivered at a cost effective price, the JCVI hopes to consider further evidence on this later this year. A final statement will be issued by the JCVI following the completion of the work and the development of its final advice.

The JCVI’s advice on a vaccination programme for boys will take into account Public Health England modelling work on the impact and cost-effectiveness of such a programme. This is a complex piece of work and the JCVI may not be in a position to provide final advice until 2017.

We look forward to receiving the JCVI’s final advice on these important issues in due course.