Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the number of NHS hospitals that offer non-invasive pregnancy testing onsite; and what steps are being taken to monitor the effect of that onsite provision on the birth rate of babies with Down's syndrome.

The national evaluative roll out for non-invasive pregnancy testing (NIPT) as a contingent screening test is yet to be implemented into the NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme. Therefore, no information is held on the effect of NIPT on the birth rate of babies with Down's syndrome or the number of National Health Service hospitals that offer non-invasive pregnancy testing onsite.

Once NIPT is rolled out, data on the choices women make regarding screening and/or diagnosis will be collected. Data will also be collected on the pregnancy outcomes of women who choose to have screening, including babies born with Down’s syndrome.