Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the full terms of reference of the NHS England specialised commissioning task force review, particularly in respect of its work relating to the funding and commissioning of treatments for rare diseases.

The aim of the specialised commissioning taskforce is to improve ways of working and to ensure that specialised commissioning is undertaken in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Within the task force work programme there are specific projects. A number of the work streams are relevant to the funding of all specialised services, of which rare diseases will be an element.

NHS England provides regular updates on the work of the taskforce to external and internal stakeholders every 3-4 weeks. There are also briefings given at key meetings and to key groups - for example the Patient and Public Voice Assurance Group. Updates can be found on the NHS England website.