Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to ensure the age at which women cease to be eligible for IVF on the NHS and the number of cycles before they reach that age does not vary between Integrated Care Boards.

Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. We expect these organisations to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, ensuring equal access to fertility treatment across England.

The Women’s Health Strategy was published on 20 July 2022 and contained a number of important changes and future ambitions to improve the variations in access to National Health Service-funded fertility services.

In addition, NICE is currently reviewing its fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to NHS-funded treatment and preservation are still appropriate. We expect that this review will be published in 2024.