Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons are for the time taken to conclude negotiations for a price for including the vaccine for meningitis B in the national immunisation programme; and when those negotiations will be completed.

The Department is continuing negotiations for the supply of the meningococcal B vaccine Bexsero^® with the manufacturer Novartis.

It would not be appropriate to comment on these commercial negotiations, which will be completed as quickly as practicable.