Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of technology appraisals on medical technologies, devices and diagnostics that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence undertakes over the next five years.

From April 2018 we are introducing a new Accelerated Access Pathway (AAP), to streamline regulatory and market access decisions, getting breakthrough and transformative products to patients more quickly. All products including medical technologies, devices and diagnostics will be eligible for selection. The AAP will complement existing activity and involve a significant role for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), building on existing momentum such as NICE's Fast Track Appraisal Process.