Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of access to specialist cross-border healthcare for sufferers of rare diseases following Brexit; and how they plan to ensure that those patients continue to benefit from specialist medical expertise across EU member states following Brexit.

The United Kingdom Government has made clear that it wishes to see the existing reciprocal healthcare arrangements with the European Union continued after the UK leaves the EU. All UK-insured residents, including sufferers of rare diseases, benefit from the reciprocal healthcare arrangements currently in place and the Government is working to ensure this access to healthcare in EU member states continues on the same terms as they do now after the UK leaves the European Union.

During negotiations with the EU on the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK has therefore been seeking to protect the healthcare arrangements currently set out in EU Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009. In the meantime, while the UK remains a member of the EU, it will continue to respect the rights and honour the obligations of EU membership and so the current arrangements remain in place.

The UK is recognised internationally for its expertise and excellence in the field of rare diseases. In this regard, the UK Government has three key principles in its approach to the development of a post-Exit relationship with the EU:

- That no patient should be disadvantaged;

- That the UK should continue to play a leading role promoting and ensuring public health, both in Europe and around the world; and

- Industry must be able to get their products into the UK market as quickly and simply as possible, with the UK and Europe at the forefront of medical innovation.