Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NICE appraisals for new treatments for rare (a) diseases and (b) cancers.

Most new drugs and significant licence indications are assessed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) through its technology appraisal programme, through which NICE has been able to recommend a significant number of drugs for the treatment of rare cancers and other diseases for routine use on the National Health Service. NICE also operates a separate Highly Specialised Technology evaluation programme for the evaluation of a very small number of treatments for very rare diseases.

The methods and processes NICE uses in the development of its guidance are internationally respected, have been developed through extensive engagement with a full range of stakeholders, including the Department, and are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain fit for purpose.