Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Fifth Report - The prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in young people and other high risk groups
Women and Equalities Committee
HC 463
Published 26 March 2024
Recommendations
3
Accepted
Para 30
Increase public health grant to local authorities for effective sexual health services and STI testing.
Recommendation
The Government must radically increase the public health grant to local authorities to a level that allows sexual health services to operate effectively and meet local need. This must include the provision of face-to-face consultations to those who need them, …
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Government Response Summary
The government partially accepts the recommendation, committing to aim for multi-year Public Health Grant allocations from 2026/27, detailing a £198 million increase to the grant for 2025/26, and developing a new HIV Action Plan aiming for publication in 2025.
Government Equalities Office
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6
Accepted
Improve collaboration across sexual healthcare for young people, supported by a national strategy.
Recommendation
The provision of sexual health services is fragmented across the health system and can be complex to navigate. The Government should work with providers and commissioners to improve collaboration across reproductive and sexual healthcare to ensure effective cross-system support for …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation and is undertaking work on condom usage as part of the new HIV Action Plan. They have extended the 'Get Ready for a Hot Summer' campaign until March 2026 with £1.5 million funding to raise awareness and distribute 20,000 condom packs.
Government Equalities Office
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8
Accepted
Para 43
Review and support national rollout of innovative schemes promoting condom use for high-risk groups.
Recommendation
Condomless sex is a key risk factor for STI acquisition, and changes in condom use have been widely reported. The Government must increase its promotion of the benefits of condom use, using a tailored approach to those groups at greatest …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, highlighting ongoing work for a new HIV Action Plan and the continued 'Get Ready for a Hot Summer' campaign, extended to March 2026 with £1.5m funding. This campaign includes distributing 20,000 tailored condom packs to high-risk populations.
Government Equalities Office
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9
Accepted
Para 46
Fund co-designed public awareness campaigns for STI prevention targeting high-risk groups in online spaces.
Recommendation
The Government should make funding available for public awareness campaigns focused on STI prevention among young people and other groups at high risk of infection in areas with the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections and where rates of diagnosis …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, highlighting local authority responsibility but also its own support through national campaigns. It notes a £1.5m extension for the HPE campaign until 2025/26, targeting high-risk groups, and is developing a new HIV Action Plan for 2025 which will explore awareness interventions.
Government Equalities Office
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15
Accepted
Para 65
Review effectiveness of restricting opportunistic chlamydia screening for young women in the national programme.
Recommendation
In light of the increases in chlamydia diagnoses, the Government should review whether the shift in focus of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme to restricting the offer of opportunistic screening to young women has been effective.
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, stating that UKHSA is monitoring the reproductive harms of untreated chlamydia to assess the effectiveness of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme, although insufficient time has passed for a full evaluation of the recent policy change.
Government Equalities Office
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Conclusions (1)
1
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 28
UK Health Security Agency data on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 2022 are deeply concerning. For particular STIs they show a return to, and acceleration of, pre-Covid-19 trends of rising rates of new infections. Rates of gonorrhoea, which almost doubled among people aged 15 to 24 years, were the highest …
Government Response Summary
The government partially accepts the recommendation, highlighting a £198 million increase to the Public Health Grant in 2025/26, the 2023 publication of the Integrated Sexual Health Service Specification, and the 2024 publication of the STI Prioritisation Framework to support local authorities.