Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered changes to the use of individual funding requests for rare cancer treatments, particularly the requirement for exceptionality, for patients who have no alternative clinically appropriate treatment options.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, including metastatic ocular melanoma patients, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.
The Department remains committed to ensuring that rare cancer patients, including those with metastatic ocular melanoma, have timely access to treatment and tailored medical support.
Tebentafusp is a licensed treatment for uveal melanoma and has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and funded by NHS England since December 2024. Since funding commenced, over 100 patients have been registered to start treatment. At present, NHS England is not aware of any delays in access to Tebentafusp for eligible patients.
Alongside Tebentafusp, a policy proposition for melphalan chemosaturation was accepted onto the NHS England policy development work programme in March 2025, in line with the Methods for National Clinical Policies. Development of this policy is ongoing following receipt of the external evidence review. Progress updates are published through the NHS England Clinical Commissioning Work Programme, and NICE is concurrently updating its guidance. Until revised guidance is issued, the NHS continues to follow the recommendations in the current version.
The development of a Clinical Commissioning policy will determine both if the evidence is now sufficient to enable making the treatment routinely available and, if it is, whether to allocate service development funding to implement it across the NHS in England.
NHS England’s Individual Funding Request (IFR) Policy provides the framework through which requests outside routinely commissioned arrangements are considered. The IFR framework was last reviewed in 2022 and ensures fairness, consistency, and transparency in decision‑making across all applications relating to medicines, devices, or surgical interventions that fall within NHS England’s commissioning responsibilities.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of delays in commissioning decisions on (1) outcomes, and (2) quality of life, for patients with rare cancers.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, including metastatic ocular melanoma patients, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.
The Department remains committed to ensuring that rare cancer patients, including those with metastatic ocular melanoma, have timely access to treatment and tailored medical support.
Tebentafusp is a licensed treatment for uveal melanoma and has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and funded by NHS England since December 2024. Since funding commenced, over 100 patients have been registered to start treatment. At present, NHS England is not aware of any delays in access to Tebentafusp for eligible patients.
Alongside Tebentafusp, a policy proposition for melphalan chemosaturation was accepted onto the NHS England policy development work programme in March 2025, in line with the Methods for National Clinical Policies. Development of this policy is ongoing following receipt of the external evidence review. Progress updates are published through the NHS England Clinical Commissioning Work Programme, and NICE is concurrently updating its guidance. Until revised guidance is issued, the NHS continues to follow the recommendations in the current version.
The development of a Clinical Commissioning policy will determine both if the evidence is now sufficient to enable making the treatment routinely available and, if it is, whether to allocate service development funding to implement it across the NHS in England.
NHS England’s Individual Funding Request (IFR) Policy provides the framework through which requests outside routinely commissioned arrangements are considered. The IFR framework was last reviewed in 2022 and ensures fairness, consistency, and transparency in decision‑making across all applications relating to medicines, devices, or surgical interventions that fall within NHS England’s commissioning responsibilities.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing time-limited interim access pathways for rare cancer treatments where published clinical evidence and specialist expertise already exist but routine commissioning routes are not yet in place.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, including metastatic ocular melanoma patients, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.
The Department remains committed to ensuring that rare cancer patients, including those with metastatic ocular melanoma, have timely access to treatment and tailored medical support.
Tebentafusp is a licensed treatment for uveal melanoma and has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and funded by NHS England since December 2024. Since funding commenced, over 100 patients have been registered to start treatment. At present, NHS England is not aware of any delays in access to Tebentafusp for eligible patients.
Alongside Tebentafusp, a policy proposition for melphalan chemosaturation was accepted onto the NHS England policy development work programme in March 2025, in line with the Methods for National Clinical Policies. Development of this policy is ongoing following receipt of the external evidence review. Progress updates are published through the NHS England Clinical Commissioning Work Programme, and NICE is concurrently updating its guidance. Until revised guidance is issued, the NHS continues to follow the recommendations in the current version.
The development of a Clinical Commissioning policy will determine both if the evidence is now sufficient to enable making the treatment routinely available and, if it is, whether to allocate service development funding to implement it across the NHS in England.
NHS England’s Individual Funding Request (IFR) Policy provides the framework through which requests outside routinely commissioned arrangements are considered. The IFR framework was last reviewed in 2022 and ensures fairness, consistency, and transparency in decision‑making across all applications relating to medicines, devices, or surgical interventions that fall within NHS England’s commissioning responsibilities.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what interim arrangements are in place to ensure timely access to clinically appropriate treatments for patients with rare cancers, including metastatic ocular melanoma, while longer term commissioning decisions are under consideration.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers, including metastatic ocular melanoma patients, to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.
The Department remains committed to ensuring that rare cancer patients, including those with metastatic ocular melanoma, have timely access to treatment and tailored medical support.
Tebentafusp is a licensed treatment for uveal melanoma and has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and funded by NHS England since December 2024. Since funding commenced, over 100 patients have been registered to start treatment. At present, NHS England is not aware of any delays in access to Tebentafusp for eligible patients.
Alongside Tebentafusp, a policy proposition for melphalan chemosaturation was accepted onto the NHS England policy development work programme in March 2025, in line with the Methods for National Clinical Policies. Development of this policy is ongoing following receipt of the external evidence review. Progress updates are published through the NHS England Clinical Commissioning Work Programme, and NICE is concurrently updating its guidance. Until revised guidance is issued, the NHS continues to follow the recommendations in the current version.
The development of a Clinical Commissioning policy will determine both if the evidence is now sufficient to enable making the treatment routinely available and, if it is, whether to allocate service development funding to implement it across the NHS in England.
NHS England’s Individual Funding Request (IFR) Policy provides the framework through which requests outside routinely commissioned arrangements are considered. The IFR framework was last reviewed in 2022 and ensures fairness, consistency, and transparency in decision‑making across all applications relating to medicines, devices, or surgical interventions that fall within NHS England’s commissioning responsibilities.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, what steps they are taking to identify regulatory barriers and evaluate reimbursement policies for brain cancer therapies.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that there are currently limited treatment options available for people who have been diagnosed with cancerous brain tumours and recognises the significant impact this rare cancer can have on patients, carers, and their families. All new licensed medicines, including medicines for brain cancer, are evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether they represent a clinically and cost effective use of NHS resources. NICE is actively evaluating a number of new medicines for potential use in the treatment of brain cancers.
NICE works closely with companies and the medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and aims to issue guidance on new medicines as close as possible to the time of licensing. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE and funding from the Cancer Drugs Fund is available for cancer medicines from the point of a draft positive NICE recommendation, bringing forward patient access by up to five months.
The MHRA has several pathways which facilitate rapid assessment of medicines. This includes international collaborations such as Project Orbis and the Access Consortium. The MHRA has also introduced the International Recognition Pathway, which allows the MHRA to take into account the expertise and decision-making of trusted regulatory partners, and the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway scheme, focussed on getting new and transformative medicines to patients in the UK health system more quickly. Recently, the MHRA also issued new regulations to make it faster and easier for cutting-edge cancer treatments and personalised gene therapies to be made right where patients are treated.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Closing the Gap: A roadmap for equitable access to genomic testing and precision medical trials for all patients with a brain tumour in the UK published by the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission in September 2024.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the National Cancer Plan, officials have engaged with a range of stakeholders, including brain cancer clinical experts and charities, as well as receiving this report. The Department received over 11,000 responses to the Call for Evidence, which have been analysed to support the development the plan.
On 24 October 2025, NHS England published the Medium-Term Planning Framework – delivering change together 2026/27 to 2028/29. This sets out that all National Health Service providers must support embedding research as part of everyday care, meet the site-specific timeframes of the Government’s 150-day clinical trial set-up target, and for research activity and income to be reported to boards on a six-monthly basis.
We are also embedding genomic testing as routine practice within the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and its workforce. This includes seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs delivering comprehensive genomic testing and analysis, such as whole genome sequencing, as part of routine care. The Genomics Education Programme is responsible for upskilling the entire multi-professional, multi-specialty NHS workforce in genomics.
The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expand brain cancer trials in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with brain cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and delivering better patient care, to make the United Kingdom a world-leading destination for clinical research. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for brain cancer.
In December 2025, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, announced an initial £13.7 million investment in the pioneering Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments. Significant further funding is due to be awarded shortly. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children and their families who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer.
The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to decrease treatment wait times for patients with metastatic ocular melanoma.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department remains committed to ensuring that cancer patients, including those with metastatic ocular melanoma, have timely access to treatment and tailored medical support.
The Government supports Scott Arthur’s Private Members Bill on rare cancers which will make it easier for clinical trials into rare cancers to take place in England by ensuring the patient population can be easily contacted by researchers. This will ensure that the National Health Service will remain at the forefront of medical innovation and is able to provide patients with the newest, most effective treatment options, and ultimately boost survival rates.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for patients with cancer, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates. This will benefit all cancer patients, including metastatic ocular melanoma patients.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that patients with rare cancers are not without access to potentially life extending treatments while national appraisal and commissioning processes are ongoing.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government wants to ensure that all National Health Service patients, including patients with rare cancers, are able to benefit from rapid access to effective new medicines in a way that represents value to the taxpayer.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) aims wherever possible to issue recommendations for the NHS on new medicines close to the time of licensing so that patients have rapid access to clinically and cost-effective medicines. The NHS is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE within three months of the publication of final guidance. NHS England funds NICE-recommended cancer medicines through the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point of positive draft NICE guidance, bringing forward patient access by approximately five months than would otherwise be the case.
The measures that we announced in the Life Sciences Sector Plan will further streamline the licensing and NICE appraisal processes reducing the time between marketing authorisation and national funding decisions.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of adjusting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence cost-effectiveness thresholds for highly specialised technology in line with the new single technology appraisal cost-effectiveness thresholds due to come into effect from April.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have reached a landmark agreement with the United States of America that secures a preferential tariff rate of 0% for all pharmaceuticals exports to the US for at least three years, and preferential terms for the United Kingdom’s medical technology exports, meaning no additional new tariffs on medical technology. This means that, unlike anywhere else in the world, life sciences companies exporting medicines from the UK to the US will face no tariffs to do so, protecting jobs and investment in the UK.
The agreement will see the National Health Service invest approximately 25% more in innovative treatments which will be achieved through an increase to the standard cost-effectiveness threshold that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) uses and a change to the way in which NICE values health benefits to better reflect societal preferences.
There are currently no plans to increase the cost‑effectiveness threshold for the highly specialised technologies (HST) programme. The HST programme already operates at a much higher threshold than standard NICE technology appraisals, reflecting the challenges of bringing treatments for very rare conditions to market, and NICE has been able to recommend nearly all the treatments that have been evaluated through the HST programme for NHS use.