Congenital Abnormalities
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87431 on Congenital Abnormalities, what use is made of consanguinity data collected by NHS England through the Maternity Services Data Set in (a) regional public health planning, (b) genetic counselling services and (c) maternal and neonatal clinical risk assessments; and if he will publish any guidance issued to Integrated Care Boards which either references or is a result of that data.
Answered by Dr Zubir Ahmed
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities supports the delivery of national and regional priorities for prevention and health inequalities across the regional system. The NHS Genomic Medicine Service delivers genomic testing, guided by eligibility criteria set out in the National Genomic Test Directory, including in cases where genetic disorders may be linked to consanguinity. In maternity and neonatal services, clinicians carry out individual risk assessments of the women and babies in their care, and this may include discussing risks relating to parental genetic conditions, including consanguinity. These services do not use Maternity Services Dataset (MSDS) data, which is population-level. NHS England has published guidance on how to submit data about consanguinity and pregnancy to the MSDS, but NHS England is not planning to publish further guidance.
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