Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help protect the (a) National Centre for Pancreas Transplantation and (b) the national service for inherited DNA repair disorders from local budgetary pressures.

Pancreas transplantation in England is nationally commissioned by NHS England as a highly specialised service from six National Health Service trusts. It is a retained service and continues to be commissioned directly by NHS England rather than delegated to integrated care boards due to its complexity, low patient numbers, and the need for consistent national standards. As such, pancreas transplantation is funded directly by NHS England through national specialised commissioning arrangements, with funding managed through NHS England’s regional teams, with national oversight. This helps to ensure that highly specialised services are not impacted by variations in local funding decisions.

The national service for DNA Repair Disorders at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is commissioned by NHS England as a highly specialised service. It is also a retained service due to its complexity, low patient numbers, and the need for consistent national standards. As such, the DNA Repair Disorders Service is also funded directly by NHS England through national specialised commissioning arrangements, with funding managed through NHS England’s regional team, with national oversight, to help ensure that highly specialised services are not impacted by variations in local funding decisions.