PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(4 December 2024)

On 28 November 2024, the Prime Minister announced a further £27 million of funding for the continuation of the HIV Emergency Department opt-out testing programme for 2025/26. As part of the extension, more than 90 sites will be offered funding to continue or begin the roll out of HIV opt out testing until March 2026, including St George's, Epsom, and St Helier hospitals.

NHS England will evaluate the costs and feasibility of further extending this programme regarding hepatitis B and C opt-out testing, once budgets for 2025/26 are confirmed, and expects to provide an update on their decision in the early new year.

There are currently no plans to extend opt-out HIV testing beyond emergency departments. However, the Department, together with the UK Health and Security Agency, and NHS England are working together in the development of a new HIV Action Plan, which will include a focus on scaling up HIV testing, and which we aim to publish in summer 2025.