Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact on patients of the delay in technology appraisals for new eczema treatments as a result of ongoing capacity constraints at NICE.

The Department has not made a specific assessment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is operationally independent from the Government. NICE is committed to publishing guidance close to the point of licensing wherever possible and is working on timelines for all appraisals that have been delayed as a result of operational challenges, including capacity constraints. In the absence of NICE guidance on the use of a medicine, National Health Service commissioners should make decisions locally based on an assessment of the available evidence.