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 potential merits of NHS England taking a portfolio approach to its evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of cystic fibrosis medicines.

The Department has made no assessment. Negotiations between NHS England and Vertex on Orkambi continue, and the final decision on any arrangement lies with NHS England, and not the Government. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy) and I wrote to Vertex in April following a Westminster Hall debate to encourage the company to work with NHS England on a proposal that represents value to the National Health Service and the taxpayer.