Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness and role of the NICE guidance for Tourette’s Syndrome and other neurological disorders.

No specific assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidelines on a range of neurological disorders, including epilepsy, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. It has also published a guideline and quality standard for the recognition and referral of suspected neurological conditions. NICE guidelines represent best practice which healthcare professionals are expected to take fully into account in the treatment of individual patients.

NICE has not published a guideline on Tourette’s Syndrome. Decisions on the topics where NICE will develop guidelines are based on factors such as the evidence base and clinical need. A topic selection oversight group at NICE considers topics for guideline development on this basis. Clinical guideline topics prioritised through this process are formally referred to NICE by NHS England and NHS Improvement.