To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the recent increase in cases of tuberculosis.

Comprehensive analyses of surveillance data in relation to tuberculosis (TB) in England are published in the UK Health Security Agency’s annual reports, which are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tuberculosis-in-england-2023-report-data-up-to-end-of-2022

Provisional 2023 data indicates that notifications have increased by over 10%, from 4,380 in 2022 to 4,850 in 2023. Non-United Kingdom born individuals account for an increasing proportion of TB notifications in England, accounting for 79.1% of notifications in 2022. Approximately half of those notifications were within six years of entry to the UK.

People with TB continued to be concentrated in large urban areas, and in the most deprived postcodes. Social risk factors, including alcohol or drug misuse, homelessness, imprisonment, mental health needs, and asylum seeker status, were reported in 16% of individuals notified with TB in 2022.