Matt Hancock, who survived Boris Johnson’s cabinet makeover to keep his job as health secretary, announced the “genomic volunteers” plan in January, which included a paid-for option that would be offered to healthy people in England to boost medical knowledge and uncover new treatments.

But in a government green paper on preventing ill health that was quietly released on Monday evening, the plans have been dropped in favour of a new scheme to recruit 5 million healthy volunteers who will have their DNA read for free. Details of how people will sign up for the scheme have not yet been determined.

Hancock had argued with Theresa May that the green paper, which includes proposals to combat smoking, drinking and poor diet, should not be published so close to her successor’s appointment. He has faced accusations of burying the document after slipping the report out with no notice.