Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions Clinical Commissioning Groups have not provided funding for a new drug treatment within three months of its approval in a NICE technology appraisal in each year since 2009.

This information is not collected centrally.

Commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in technology appraisal and highly specialised technology guidance within three months of final guidance being published.

Information on the uptake of new NICE-approved medicines at clinical commissioning group level and estimates of expected national uptake (when available) are being developed by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. Information is published quarterly in NICE Technology Appraisals in the NHS in England, Innovation Scorecard, Experimental statistics and the most recent publication can be found at:

www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB17559