Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether consultations of stakeholders conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) may address policy and affordability issues, in the context of NICE's duty to promote innovation.

Section 233 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 provides that the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) must have regard to the broad balance between benefits and costs and the desirability of promoting innovation. NICE is an independent organisation and is responsible for its consultation processes.