Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress her Department has made on consulting on proposed amendments to Part IX of the Drug Tariff; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed amendments on (a) the medical technology ecosystem, (b) innovation relating to the the Life Sciences Vision and (c) the wider UK economy.

A targeted consultation on Medical Devices in Primary Care: Proposals for updating Part IX of the Drug Tariff-medical devices available for prescribing in primary care was issued on 6 October 2023.

The consultation on Part IX of the Drug Tariff sets out a series of proposals to modernise Part IX of the Drug Tariff. The objectives of the proposals are to ensure Part IX consistently includes devices that are of good quality and effectiveness; ensure that the Tariff product list is refreshed going forward and existing and new products are only adopted or continued to be used if able to demonstrate value to the National Health Service and patients; and update processes on Part IX applications to support the adoption of innovation that can improve patient outcomes and the quality of life for patients.

The consultation was fully closed for responses at 4 January 2024. The Department is considering all the responses before finalising any proposed amendments to Part IX of the Drug Tariff. Therefore, the Department will share a response to the consultation and an updated assessment of the impacts in due course.

In forming the proposals, that have been consulted on, the department has had extensive engagement with industry, the health and care sector, NHS commissioners and patient representative groups. There will be further engagement with these stakeholders for any amendments to Part IX that are taken forward.