Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is an objective of the new NHS Long Term Plan to ensure that the most innovative drugs will be accessible to patients more quickly than they currently are.

The NHS Long Term Plan, together with other recent initiatives including the Life Sciences Sector Deal and the 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, describe the Government’s objectives for a health and care system that delivers world leading patient care and health outcomes.

The Government wants patients to benefit from effective new drugs and the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access agreed between the Department and the branded pharmaceutical industry commits to align the speed of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technology appraisals for non-cancer medicines to the faster timeline for cancer medicines.

In addition, the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy set out a vision of being a world-leader in developing and bringing to market innovative medicines to improve life-chances of United Kingdom patients. It highlighted the importance of evolving and simplifying the access system for new medicines by implementing, and building on, the findings of the Accelerated Access Review.