Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times he has exercised his powers under the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Constitution and Functions) and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (Functions) Regulations 2013 to refer an unlicensed indication of a drug for a NICE technology appraisal.

Since the ‘National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Constitution and Functions) and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (Functions) Regulations 2013’ came into force on 1 April 2013, the Department has not asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop under Regulation 7 any technology appraisal guidance on the use of an unlicensed drug. The Department has, however, under Regulation 5, asked NICE to develop guidance and recommendations on the use of a combination therapy for use in the treatment of ovarian cancer outside the terms of its marketing authorisation.