Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using genomics in healthcare for the diagnosis and treatment of blood cancers.

Genomic testing is already in use as part of the diagnostic pathway for blood cancer. Through implementation of the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, NHS England and NHS Improvement are ensuring consistent and equitable access to genomic testing.

The NHS Long Term Plan sets out the ambition to embed genomic medicine, including whole genome sequencing, into routine clinical care. It is expected that within the next year whole genome sequencing (WGS) will begin to be available for:

- Seriously ill children likely to have a rare genetic disorder;

- People with one of 21 rare conditions where current evidence supports early adoption of WGS as a diagnostic test; and

- People with specific types of cancer for which there is likely to be the greatest patient benefit from using WGS – children with cancer, sarcoma and acute myeloid leukaemia.