Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to support the needs of people with (a) spinal muscular atrophy and (b) other rare neurological conditions as part of its implementation of the Rare Diseases Action Plan.

The UK Rare Diseases Framework and England’s Rare Disease Action Plans are high-level documents containing overarching priorities and underpinning themes for rare disease policy. The documents are focused on improving the lives of all people living with rare conditions, so there are no specific plans to support the needs of people with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and other rare neurological conditions in isolation. There are around 7,000 rare conditions, and whilst each is different, people living with rare conditions often face common challenges with the healthcare system and wider services, which the Department seeks to address through the implementation of the England Rare Disease Action Plans.