Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the UK hospitals participating in the European Reference Networks on rare diseases will continue to participate in those Networks in the event of the UK withdrawing from the EU.

The Government's policy paper, Collaboration on Science and Innovation: A Future Partnership Paper, stresses the importance of continued collaboration with European partners to ensure that the United Kingdom remains one of the best places in the world for science and innovation. European Reference Networks were cited in the paper as an example of a partnership that the UK believes should continue.

The diagnosis, treatment and management of rare diseases benefit from national and international collaboration because of the limited number of patients and scarcity of clinical and research expertise within a single country. The UK is recognised internationally for its expertise and excellence in the field of rare diseases.