Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to consult with rare disease patient groups throughout the UK to ensure that the proposed Innovative Medicines Fund is able to support access to innovative medicines for rare diseases.

Proposals for the Innovative Medicines Fund are in development and we expect NHS England and NHS Improvement and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to lead an engagement exercise early next year.

The engagement exercise will involve the pharmaceutical industry, the National Health Service and associated bodies and patient groups, including those with rare diseases.