Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January to Question 124439 on In Vitro Fertilisation, what assessment he has made of the potential merits on making NICE guidelines mandatory in cases where service provision has been (a) decommissioned and (b) reduced after a majority of views expressed in a public consultation supported the retention of that service.

We have made no such assessment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and its clinical guidelines represent best practice, are based on the best available evidence and developed through wide consultation. NICE clinical guidelines are not mandatory, although National Health Service commissioners are expected to take them into account alongside local priorities in the design of services.