Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Allergy's UK's Patient Charter, published on 5 May; and what steps they will take to support it.

Whilst no formal assessment has been made, we have noted the Charter’s focus on quality standards of care, access to accurate information and equality.

Allergy services in England are commissioned through clinical commissioning groups to meet the needs of the local population. A small number of specialist allergy services for patients with rare and complex conditions are commissioned through NHS England and NHS Improvement’s specialised commissioning. The service specification specifies that centres provide equity of access to best practice standards for diagnosis and management, based on current national and international guidelines.

The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to engage with stakeholders to understand the needs of people with allergies and how services could be improved. This includes patient and public voice membership in NHS England and NHS Improvement’s clinical reference group which provides clinical advice and leadership on specialised immunology and allergy services.