Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of treatment provision for people diagnosed with (a) hepatitis B and (b) hepatitis C.

The responsibility for the provision of care services for people with diagnosed hepatitis B and C is shared between commissioners. NHS England is the responsible commissioner for drug treatments excluded from national tariff for these conditions. NHS England commissions hepatitis B and C treatments in accordance with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal guidance.

In the case of hepatitis C, the National Health Service is on track to treat 10,000 individuals with diagnosed hepatitis C which is in line with estimates of uptake published in a costing template published alongside NICE guidance.

Treatments which are not subject to such guidance are considered through NHS England’s policy development process which assesses the evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness and undertakes a relative prioritisation of investment decisions.