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 impact of sexually transmitted infections on the future fertility of people.

Bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STI) such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea are a recognised cause of pelvic inflammatory disease, which can in some cases lead to tubal factor infertility.

Chlamydia is the most commonly diagnosed STI. It often has no symptoms but, if left untreated, can have serious health complications in women, including pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and tubal factor infertility. It has been estimated that 0.5% of untreated chlamydia infections can lead to tubal factor infertility.

The National Chlamydia Screening Programme is a public health programme aimed at reducing the reproductive harm caused by untreated chlamydia infections. The programme involves making opportunistic offers of a chlamydia test to young women aged 15 to 24 years old without symptoms, with the primary aim of reducing the health harm caused by untreated chlamydia infection.