Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) review, and (2) update, the NICE guidelines for the management of (a) Crohn’s disease, and (b) ulcerative colitis.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for reviewing and updating its guidelines as new evidence becomes available.

NICE’s clinical guidelines for the management of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis were both reviewed in 2017 and are both in the process of being updated.

The Crohn’s disease guideline update focuses on postsurgical maintenance of remission, whilst the ulcerative colitis guideline update focuses on medicines used to induce remission in people with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis and treating acute severe ulcerative colitis.

NICE expects to publish its updated guidelines for both conditions in May 2019.