Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support the development of a potential HIV vaccine.

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Since 2013, the NIHR has supported five studies investigating the development of HIV vaccines through its research infrastructure. The NIHR has also funded a wide portfolio of awards investigating other methods of HIV prophylaxis, for a combined total investment of almost £11 million since 2010. As the nation's largest funder of health and care research, the NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including on HIV vaccine development and HIV prevention more broadly.

The Department will be publishing a new Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and a HIV Action Plan in 2021. HIV prevention approaches, including any new evidence related to potential HIV vaccines, will be considered as part of the development process.