To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase the take up of HIV testing in the South West.
Answered on
7 June 2022
The HIV Action Plan is prioritising improved access to HIV testing in England, including in the South West. Local authorities are mandated to commission sexual health and reproductive health services through the Public Health Grant. It is the responsibility of local authorities to commission services to meet the needs of the local population, including the provision of HIV prevention and testing services.
We have established the national HIV and syphilis self-sampling framework to assist local authority commissioners to provide online testing. We have also allocated funding to HIV Prevention England to deliver health promotion activities, including the annual National HIV Testing week.