Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ensure that funding for newly licensed medicines results in improved patient outcomes.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology works closely with the Department of Health and Social Care to implement the Life Sciences Sector Plan, which seeks to improve patient outcomes by driving health innovation in England.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the NHS on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded based on an assessment of clinical and cost-effectiveness. This process ensures that new licensed medicines will only be routinely funded by the NHS where evidence demonstrates that their costs are justified by the benefits that they bring for NHS patients.