Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of supporting the wider roll-out of air filtration systems within NHS services.

No such assessment has been made. National Health Service organisations and primary care providers regularly review all their estates locally to ensure they meet the required standards for ventilation and infection, as well as the required prevention and control measures, and will invest in improvements where required. Guidance is provided to the NHS on air quality in its facilities in the Health Technical Memorandum 03-01: Specialised ventilation for healthcare premises, and the NHS Estates Technical Bulletin (NETB 2023/01A): application of HEPA filter devices for air cleaning in healthcare spaces: guidance and standards, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/specialised-ventilation-for-healthcare-buildings/

Guidance to the NHS on air quality in its facilities is also provided in the NHS Estates Technical Bulletin (NETB 2023/01B): application of ultraviolet (UVC) devices for air cleaning in occupied healthcare spaces: guidance and standards, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/application-of-ultraviolet-uvc-devices-for-air-cleaning-in-occupied-healthcare-spaces-guidance-and-standards/

NHS guidance is reviewed and updated in response to changes in clinical practice, technology, and risk assessments.