Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the take-up of commercial health tests on NHS costs; what oversight is given to the efficacy and reliability of such tests; and whether they plan to introduce further regulation of such tests.

The Government has not assessed the impact of private tests on costs to the National Health Service and has no plans to change the way they are regulated; however, people are free to choose private health check providers outside of the NHS. We recommend that individuals understand whether the tests are likely to be informative and are clear what will happen if the test shows an abnormal result.

If a product such as a commercial screening test is classified as a medical device, it must hold a UK Conformity Assessed or CE certificate before being placed on the United Kingdom market. This certificate shows that the device meets the requirements of the relevant regulations.