Oral Answers to Questions

John Baron Excerpts

Tuesday 7th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Burns]

May I reassure the right hon. Gentleman that we will shortly consult on the cancer drugs fund. On the question of Afinitor, in which I know he has a particular interest, I appreciate that there has been some concern expressed by families and patients about the issuing of the interim guidance. I would like to emphasise that the guidance is only interim, that the appraisal is ongoing and that we await the final guidance from NICE. I hope that he will be reassured that, since the publication of the draft guidance, the manufacturer of Afinitor has proposed a revised patient access scheme for the drug, which is now being considered as part of the NICE appraisal. In the light of that, we will have to await the announcement of the final decision.

[Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

13. What recent representations he has received on the proposed one-year cancer survival measure.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr Paul Burstow)]

I have received many helpful representations on the proposed one-year survival measure, including his own when I met him along with a number of leading cancer charities in July. We have launched a full public consultation to shape the first ever outcomes framework for the NHS, and I urge all interested parties to contribute. The consultation document has put forward a range of possible outcome measures, including a one-year cancer survival rate that could be included in the framework. A full response to the consultation will be provided when it closes on 11 October.

[Mr Baron]

The one-year cancer survival measure is welcome, because it will encourage earlier diagnosis. As the Minister will know, however, under-treatment of the elderly in the NHS remains a pressing problem, which was highlighted in a recent report on cancer inequalities by the all-party parliamentary group on cancer. Can he assure us that the over-75s will not be excluded from the one-year or the five-year cancer survival measures once they are constructed?

[Mr Burstow]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. It is essential for us to ensure that the NHS delivers treatments that are both based on evidence and age-appropriate, which means ensuring that older people receive treatments that will enable them to survive cancers. His representations will need to be taken fully into account as we consider the results of the consultation on the outcomes framework.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

T8. Is any flexibility available to allow the interim cancer drug fund to review earlier and more speedily adverse National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence decisions—because in certain cases, as we know with Avastin for late-stage bowel cancer, a few months, or even a few weeks, can make a big difference to patients.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend will be aware that we have proceeded as rapidly as we possibly can in finding savings this year, so that from 1 October the regional panels of expert clinicians can look at individual cases. It is not a matter of their reviewing NICE decisions; it is a matter of their looking at individual cases that cannot be funded under existing guidance or local decisions, but being able to apply clinical criteria to individual cases using an additional fund.