Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) introduce a national sexual health strategy to tackle increases in the levels of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and (b) allocate funding to testing for all STIs in sexual health clinics in England.

We have made excellent progress in some aspects of sexual and reproductive health, for example reducing new HIV infections and teenage pregnancy, but we are concerned about the worrying increases in some sexually transmitted infections. To address this, we announced on 24 October a new sexual health strategy to ensure that people know how to protect themselves, and can access the services they need for good sexual and reproductive health.

The Government provides funding to local authorities for public health services, including sexual health services, through the ringfenced public health grant. It is for local authorities to determine how the public health grant is allocated in their local areas to meet their needs. Sexual health service providers should ensure commissioned services are in line with current national guidance, standards of training and care and quality indicators.