Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the work of the Scottish New Medicines Fund in funding treatments for rarer cancers.

The Government has no plans to assess the work of Scottish New Medicines Fund. The Government is implementing all of the commitments in the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) on improving access to innovative medicines commensurate with the outcomes they offer patients. In addition, NHS England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) are pressing ahead with plans to maximise the benefits of the PPRS by improving access to and optimising the use of medicines to improve patient outcomes.

The Cancer Drugs Fund has already helped over 72,000 people in England and this year £340 million will be provided so people get the drugs they need. A working party made up of NHS England, cancer charities, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Ethical Medicines Industry Group and the ABPI is looking at options for the sustainable long-term commissioning of cancer drugs.

We take the issue of ensuring rapid access to innovative therapies very seriously, which is why we have launched an Accelerated Access Review to make recommendations to Government later in the year on speeding up access for National Health Service patients to innovative and cost effective new medicines, diagnostics and medical technologies.