Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of diagnostics not available to be ordered for patients in England by their GPs on the basis that the patient is over 60; and whether policy decisions regarding restrictions on diagnostics are the responsibility of (a) NHS England, (b) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or (c) local commissioning bodies.

There are no restrictions on diagnostic tests purely based on age. We therefore do not hold this data. Diagnostic tests are accessible to patients based on their clinical circumstances in all settings.

Local commissioning bodies are responsible for designing services, including diagnostics, that meet the needs of their local populations based on an assessment of priorities and taking into account authoritative, evidence-based guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence where available and taking account of NHS England’s Evidence-based Interventions programme.