The Code on Genetic Testing and Insurance is a shared agreement between the Government and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) on the use of genetic testing in underwriting insurance policies.  Compliance with the Code, and the adoption of the Commitments in the Code, is a condition of membership for all ABI members.

The Government and the ABI launched a Call for Evidence on the Code on 25 July 2023 and closed on 17 October 2023. The Call for Evidence gathered views around how to transparently assess which predictive genetic test results may need to be disclosed under the Code in the future, as well as whether approaches used in other countries should be considered.

The ABI has recently published a revised Consumer Guide to the Code, which directly addresses concerns about the level of premiums offered to applicants who have tested negative for Huntington's disease. The consumer guide is available at the following link:

https://www.abi.org.uk/globalassets/files/publications/public/genetics/abi-consumer-guide-2023---code-on-genetic-testing-and-insurance.pdf

While no specific conversations have taken place with life insurance providers, the Government continues to work closely with the ABI to ensure the Code remains fit for purpose and beneficial to both consumers and the insurance industry.

The Code on Genetic Testing and Insurance is a shared agreement between the Government and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) on the use of genetic testing in underwriting insurance policies.  Compliance with the Code, and the adoption of the Commitments in the Code, is a condition of membership for all ABI members.

The Government and the ABI launched a Call for Evidence on the Code on 25 July 2023 and closed on 17 October 2023. The Call for Evidence gathered views around how to transparently assess which predictive genetic test results may need to be disclosed under the Code in the future, as well as whether approaches used in other countries should be considered.

The ABI has recently published a revised Consumer Guide to the Code, which directly addresses concerns about the level of premiums offered to applicants who have tested negative for Huntington's disease. The consumer guide is available at the following link:

https://www.abi.org.uk/globalassets/files/publications/public/genetics/abi-consumer-guide-2023---code-on-genetic-testing-and-insurance.pdf

While no specific conversations have taken place with life insurance providers, the Government continues to work closely with the ABI to ensure the Code remains fit for purpose and beneficial to both consumers and the insurance industry.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) undertook a review of the evidence relating to the clinical effectiveness of screening for lung cancer in adults with a history of tobacco smoking. This found high quality evidence that screening in this group identified lung cancer earlier and significantly reduced deaths from lung cancer.

Following a public consultation, the UK NSC recommended that lung cancer screening should be implemented in the United Kingdom. The Department is currently considering the recommendation from the UK NSC with NHS England.

As part of the Government’s HIV Action Plan, NHS England has expanded opt-out HIV testing in accident and emergency departments in areas of extremely high diagnosed HIV prevalence, over five cases per 1,000 people, a proven effective way to identify new HIV cases. NHS England is investing £20 million over three years, 2022/25, to support this activity.

We will be considering the full evidence from the first year of opt-out testing, alongside the data on progress towards our ambition of ending new HIV transmissions in England by 2030, to decide whether we further expand this programme to areas with high HIV prevalence that is two to five cases per 1,000 people. We will also share the findings from the opt-out testing programme with local health systems to inform local decisions on expansion.

The Department and NHS England are determining how a lung screening programme could be established and the recommendation will be considered in due course.

Proof of natural immunity is not accepted as an alternative to proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. Those who have recently recovered from infection should take a pre-departure lateral flow device test, as it less likely to return a positive result from historic infection. Those who are fully vaccinated are not required to take pre-departure tests.

Guidance for travellers on testing for travel to England is at available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-for-people-travelling-to-england#positive-test-results

From 7 December 2021, all travellers are required to take a pre-departure test and receive a negative result to depart for England. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), lateral flow device and LAMP tests may be used for this purpose. Recent infection and associated immunity is not necessarily associated with a residual positive PCR test. There is no guarantee that a new positive test outcome is not a new COVID-19 infection and potentially a variant of concern.

No estimate has been made.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.

This information is not held centrally.

This information is not held centrally.

This information is not held centrally.

For those in quarantining at home, the testing package of two COVID-19 tests is £210 if purchased from NHS Test and Trace. We recently introduced private sector testing of travellers to offer a wider choice of providers for those who need to purchase private tests. The prices and service offered by these approved providers may vary. These costs will be kept under constant review.

At present, the Government does not provide refunds for tests. The advice set out in guidance is that a day two test be taken on or before day two and a day eight test be taken on or after day eight. In the event of a delay, the guidance advises that a day two test be taken as soon as it or a replacement arrives.

Testing staff who work at sites for symptomatic members of the public where assisted tests are carried out, are eligible to be prioritised for a vaccine as they are considered frontline healthcare workers for the purpose of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation prioritisation. Laboratory staff and those at sites for asymptomatic testing are not considered frontline healthcare workers and therefore will not be eligible for vaccine prioritisation.

In the first phase of the community testing pilot from 6 November to 9 December 2020, 25% of 498,000 residents took up lateral flow tests (LFTs) and 36% took up LFT or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. 897 individuals were identified as positive via LFT and 2,902 via PCR. Comparable national testing data is not available.

We have worked with 152 universities in England, which covers three quarters of the student population, to offer the majority of asymptomatic COVID-19 tests before they returned home for the Christmas break.

Almost all universities who expressed an interest in mass testing continued through the programme to order test kits and set up asymptomatic testing sites. However, due to the unprecedented scale of the operation, not every university was able to take part in the December phase of the project. Students at Leeds Arts University were given access to the testing service at Leeds Beckett University.

A person who has tested positive for COVID-19 and has completed 14 days of isolation is required to isolate again if a subsequent test within 90 days is positive but the person is displaying no symptoms.

Anyone who has previously received a positive test result for COVID-19 should only be re-tested within a 90-day period if they develop any new symptoms of COVID-19. This is because it is possible for tests to detect residual virus for some time after COVID-19 infection.

All upper tier local authorities have access to record level (including sex, age, occupation and postcode) test and case data.

We also publish public dashboards at a national, regional and local authority level and the MSOA (Middle Layer Super Output Area) map, allows users to type in a postcode to see how many cases there are in small areas of around 7,000 people.

All upper tier local authorities have access to record level (including sex, age, occupation and postcode) test and case data. Postcode level data is sensitive as there is a risk of disclosing the health information of individuals, and as such we do not have plans to provide public, postcode level data at this time

We do however publish public dashboards at a national, regional and local authority level and the Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) map, which allows individuals to type in a postcode to find their MSOA and see how many cases there are in small areas of around 7,000 people

Data on the seven-day average for the number of people with COVID-19 identified through an NHS lab (Pillar 1) or from commercial swab testing (Pillar 2) back to March 2020 is available as part of the NHS Digital Progression Dashboard to upper tier local authority level and is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/dashboards/progression