Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with migraines receive effective support in primary care settings.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, Headaches in over 12s: diagnosis and management, sets out best practice for healthcare professionals in the care, treatment, and support of people who suffer from headaches, including migraine. It aims to improve the recognition and management of headaches and migraine.

NICE updated its guideline in June 2025. Updates included a change to the strength of recommendations on treatments for migraine prevention to better reflect the balance between their benefits and harms, and incorporation of relevant technology appraisal guidance for treating and preventing migraine with or without aura.

At the national level, there are several initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with migraine, including the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit. The GIRFT programme published a National Speciality Report, which makes several recommendations in relation to improving recognition and diagnosis of migraine by general practitioners. Additionally, the RightCare Toolkit sets out key priorities for improving care for patients with migraine, which includes correct identification and diagnosis of headache disorders.

The Royal College of General Practitioners has developed two e-learning modules about migraine and cluster headaches, which aim to raise awareness amongst primary care clinicians about the different types of migraine and their associated symptoms, and how to differentiate.

Over the last four years, a new class of drugs, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors, has been made available on the National Health Service for the prevention and treatment of episodic and chronic migraines. On 15 May 2024, Atogepant became the latest CGRP inhibitor recommended by NICE for use as a preventive medication for the treatment of migraine.

A key priority for the Government is to cut waiting lists, including for patients with migraine. We have committed to achieving the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, including in neurology services. We have reduced the elective waiting list by over 206,000 since July 2024. Between July 2024 and June 2025, we have delivered 5.2 million additional appointments, many of which will have been for patients with migraine.