Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the decision to approve non-invasive prenatal testing was revealed in an article in the <i>Guardian</i> on 29 October, including a comment from the Health Minister, before that decision was formally published on the government website on 2 November.

The decision to accept the UK National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC) recommendation of the non-invasive prenatal testing was formally communicated as a matter of public record via the Guardian and Press Association, and subsequently reported by several media organisations, this is usual practice.

Following subsequent conversations with the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, an agreement was made to amend statements made to reflect their preferred wording. The Department did not contact the Guardian to amend this article.