Written question asked by Lord Lansley (Conservative) on Thursday, 18 October 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 October 2007. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Monday, 29 October 2007 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Chlamydia: Screening

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department is making towards the aim that primary care trusts should screen 15 per cent. of the 15 to 24 year old population for chlamydia; when his Department set this aim; whether this aim refers to the proportion of the 15 to 24 year old population screened over a number of years or annually; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Local Delivery Plans are negotiated as part of the Operating Framework for the national health service for 2007-08. All primary care trusts are expected to screen 15 per cent. of the target population between April 2007 and March 2008 and strategic health authorities submitted plans on how they intend to reach the target in this year. For the first quarter of 2007-08 there were 45,845 screens reported to the Health Protection Agency, this equates to 0.6 per cent. of the target population. The second quarter data will be published in November. For chlamydia screening, the 15 per cent. target refers to the population between the ages of 15-24 in England provided by the Office for National Statistics.

Secondary information