Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the draft Value Based Procurement guidance for Medical Technology, (a) whether procurement assessments are expected to include comparison with the existing standard of care, (b) how incremental clinical benefit is expected to be measured where a medical device is assessed against an existing treatment pathway, and (c) what weighting is given to clinical outcome evidence relative to cost data in Value Based Procurement assessments.

The Value Based Procurement (VBP) guidance, published on 11 June 2026, applies to medical technology as defined by the Medical Device Regulations 2002. This includes consumables, implants, diagnostics, equipment and digital technologies. The Department worked with trade associations, suppliers, and patient groups to develop supporting information which sets out the types of evidence that buyers should consider assessing when carrying out a VBP process. The guidance states that evidence standards should be used to the extent relevant, accounting for the maturity of the supplier base, product being procured, and availability of cost-effectiveness and clinical outcome data. Buyers should also seek to understand the maturity of evidence through pre-market engagement with suppliers.

The Department will publish the independent evaluation of the VBP pilots this summer. Feedback from the National Health Service trusts involved in the pilot work demonstrated that the guidance was considered usable by procurement teams, helped to simplify the procurement process and reduced variation in how non-financial criteria are evaluated. The pilot findings informed refinements to the final published guidance and implementation planning. The Department intends to undertake ongoing monitoring and assessment of how the guidance is being applied in practice to measure its impact and inform future development.

The new Medium Term Planning Framework sets out a multi-year funding settlement for the NHS to support a move to medium-term financial and delivery planning cycles. The on-line training that is being provided for procurement teams will support the adoption of the guidance and explains how the structured and standardised approach should streamline the procurement process.

NHS trusts are responsible for setting and adhering to finance procedures, including the involvement of finance directors in purchasing decisions as per schemes of delegation. To support understanding of the guidance within the finance community, the Department engaged with finance professionals via professional networks during its development. The planned evaluation over the coming months of how the guidance is been applied will assess if further actions are needed to embed principles of VBP.

The guidance sets out that buyers should conduct their procurements in line with relevant legislation. The guidance recommends that buyers should communicate the existing standard of care and any performance baselines, to the extent relevant to the product or service being procured. Buyers should work with relevant stakeholders, including clinicians, to determine the most suitable method of assessing incremental clinical benefit and the associated weighting this should be given relative to cost, tailored to the product being procured and the supplier market.