Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to assess the progress of NHS England in meeting the requirement in the 2014-15 NHS Mandate that people should have access to the right treatment when they need it.

NHS performance for the core access standards are published monthly by NHS England, and are available at the following link:

http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/

These standards cover accident and emergency performance, ambulance response times, waiting times for diagnostic tests, and referral to treatment for consultant led elective care, and cancer services.

Progress in these areas is discussed regularly with the NHS England and NHS Improvement Chief Executives to monitor performance against these standards.

Improving patients’ access to innovative, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved treatments is part of an objective set out in the Government’s mandate to NHS England. Performance against the mandate is discussed in NHS England accountability meetings chaired by the Secretary of State. The minutes of the meetings are published on the Government’s website.

Uptake of medicines generally is discussed at the Ministerial Industry Strategy Group. The minutes are published at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/ministerial-industry-strategy-group