Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's (NICE) evaluation processes at reflecting the pace of innovation in medical technologies, in particular for chronic conditions such as type 1 and 2 diabetes; and what assessment they have made of increasing NICE's cost-effectiveness threshold in line with the voluntary scheme growth rates since 2014.

With the pace of innovation increasing, it is crucial now more than ever that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is focused on the highest impact technologies.

The Rules-Based Pathway (RBP), recently announced in the 10-Year Health Plan and Life Sciences Sector Plan, will, for the first time, create a national pathway that guarantees funding for several rigorously selected transformative technologies each year, streamlining the route to adoption in the National Health Service for selected devices, diagnostics, and digital tools. This will give NICE a powerful lever to drive healthcare transformation and help to position the United Kingdom as a first-to-market location for cutting-edge technology.

NICE assessments have been carried out on diabetes technologies, including: insulin pumps; continuous glucose monitors; and most recently, hybrid closed loop systems. Diabetes technologies listed on Part IX of the NHS Drug Tariff are also subject to more frequent review.

The 2024 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access, and growth, which is an agreement between the Department, NHS England, and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, states that the standard NICE cost-effectiveness threshold will not change for the duration of the scheme, which ends in December 2028.

Under the current arrangements, NICE is able to recommend the majority of medicines it appraises for use on the NHS, with an approval rate of 84%.