Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the recent decision that all Greater Manchester boroughs offer 1 cycle of free NHS IVF, in the context of the NICE guideline advising 3+ cycles and some boroughs such as Stockport previously offering 2 or 3 cycles.

No assessment has been made by the Department. Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards (ICBs) and are based on the clinical needs of their local population.

On 31 March, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its updated fertility guideline, which recommends that women under 40 years old who meet the clinical eligibility criteria should be offered up to three full cycles of in vitro fertilisation.

We expect all ICBs to consider and reflect the updated NICE fertility guideline in their commissioning decisions, and we are working with NHS England to support greater consistency in provision.