Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the next Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme provides improved patient access to new and clinically effective medicines.

The Government is committed to supporting the United Kingdom life sciences industry and ensuring that patients can access cost-effective innovative medicines and technologies at a price the National Health Service can afford. Discussions on the 2019 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme have been constructive and we are continuing to make progress.

During the pre-negotiation engagement phase the Department sought views from a wide range of organisations, including bodies representing patients, which informed our objectives for this agreement. We will seek to meet again with patient charities to discuss the development of a full agreement once an outline deal is reached. Due to commercial sensitivities the Department cannot share further details until the point where a heads of agreement is reached.