Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on ensuring that all boys aged 12 and 13 are offered vaccination against HPV-related diseases including oral, throat, anal cancer; and if he will make a statement.

Preparation to implement the extension of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme to boys is progressing well. NHS England has carried out a series of assurance surveys to assess the preparedness of the system for the extension of the HPV vaccination programme to boys, specifically covering the service provision, delivery, data collection and coverage. The outcome of that exercise has shown that implementation is on track for the 2019/20 academic year.

NHS England Public Health Commissioning teams have embedded the duty to offer boys aged 12 and 13 vaccination against HPV-related diseases within contracts with school-aged immunisation providers. These providers are under contractual obligation to offer 100% of eligible boys the opportunity to be vaccinated and not just those in full time education.