Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility for weight-loss drugs to people who are pre-diabetic.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops evidence-based recommendations on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE. NICE has recommended several medicines licensed for weight loss for use on the NHS for patients meeting specified clinical criteria. People with prediabetes may be eligible for treatment with weight loss medicines if they meet the other criteria specified in NICE’s guidance.