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 adequacy of access to peer support services for people living with HIV.

The Government is committed to ending new transmissions of HIV in England by 2030 and is developing the new HIV Action Plan, which we aim to publish this year. The plan will address ways to optimise rapid access to treatment and retention in care, and will improve the quality of life for people living with HIV, including consideration of peer support services.

A key component of the Government’s successful HIV emergency department opt-out testing programme includes a recommendation that 10% of the funding allocated to each site should be used to support community and peer services for individuals diagnosed with a blood borne virus.

NHS England is responsible for delivering HIV care, including support services for those living with HIV. In April 2024, it published the updated national Service Specification for Adult HIV services, which sets out the standards of care that HIV providers are expected to meet, including the availability of community, psychological, and psychosocial support for patients.