Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Secretary of State for Health has not responded to (1) the letter of 8 March requesting a meeting with Lord Shinkwin and people with Down’s syndrome and their representatives to discuss concerns about the introduction of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), and (2) the letter of 11 October, signed by over 900 people with Down’s syndrome and their families, detailing their concerns regarding the implementation of NIPT into the foetal anomaly screening programme.

The response to the noble Lord’s letter of 8 March resulted in a meeting with the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health (Jane Ellison) and the noble Lord on 14 June to discuss non-invasive prenatal testing for Down’s, Edwards’ and Patau’s syndromes. A response to the Don’t Screen Us Out campaign’s letter of 11 October was sent to the campaign group on 11 November 2016.