Ministers have defended their response to the swine flu epidemic and denied the launch of a new telephone and website assessment system had been delayed.
It is believed peers are set to criticise the Government in a select committee report for being too slow to set up the National Pandemic Flu Service.
But health minister Gillian Merron said: "To say that the National Pandemic Flu Service has been delayed, or that it should have been introduced sooner, is untrue."
She added: "The service was set up at the request of GPs and the NHS and has been welcomed by them.
"Launching the service could only be done at the point where we moved from local outbreaks of swine flu to significant levels of infection across the country."
Ms Merron said the service was activated when the number of PCTs reporting exceptional levels of activity dealing with swine flu jumped to 110.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that a report from the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee due on Tuesday will attack the Government for failing to set up a flu telephone helpline by April as planned and will question the quality of advice being offered to vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women.
But Ms Merron said: "When I gave evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, peers were interested to hear about the preparedness of the National Pandemic Flu Service which would be, as it has been, activated when it was needed.
"They welcomed this reassurance, the details of which they had been unaware."
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