Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Givinostat

Lord Kakkar Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

The noble Lord touches on a very sensitive matter that could be replicated around a variety of issues. Looking for more people to come forward is a perpetual challenge, and I am sure that everything should be done to encourage people to do so. I am sure that many people do not know that this is an issue, and some promotion could be helpful.

[Lord Kakkar (CB)]

I draw the House’s attention to my registered interest as chairman of King’s Health Partners. The 10-year plan recently published by His Majesty’s Government, with regard to the future of the NHS, puts at its very centre the adoption of innovation at scale and pace to transform the health service and secure its sustainability. What arrangements are in place, and what assessment is being made of those mechanisms? In particular, do His Majesty’s Government have a view about advancing the opportunity for early adoption of innovation in such a way that the kinds of problems we have heard about in this short Question are not repeated on several occasions, and the ambition to transform the health service with innovation is not frustrated?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

The noble Lord raises a crucial point: there is no point having all the work going into innovation if we cannot implement it. It is at the centre of the 10-year plan. A process is being worked up to look at how we can bring the best of our innovation and technological advancement into clinical practice. I am grateful for his input into this area, and I know that this will be taken very seriously as we move forward.