Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason NHS England has not approved abiraterone for use in high-risk, non-metastatic prostate cancer.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Abiraterone is licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for use in the treatment of high-risk hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published final draft guidance on 30 October and has been able to recommend abiraterone (originator and generics) for treating newly diagnosed high-risk hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer. NICE reviewed its guidance to determine whether to recommend abiraterone for use in this indication following the patent expiry for the medicine.

Abiraterone is not licensed for use in the treatment of high-risk, non-metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, and as such, it has not been evaluated by NICE through its technology appraisal programme. NICE makes recommendations for the National Health Service in England on the vast majority of new medicines and significant licence indications for existing medicines but does not evaluate medicines that are used outside their marketing authorisations, also known as “off-label”.

Funding decisions for off-label medicines are the responsibility of NHS commissioners who are required to make decisions on the basis of the available evidence. For cancer medicines, NHS England is the responsible commissioner and has an established mechanism to make funding decisions on medicines that are not evaluated by NICE through its clinical prioritisation process. NHS England considered abiraterone as an off-label treatment for hormone-sensitive, non-metastatic prostate cancer through its clinical policy development process in 2024/25. Through this process, NHS England confirmed that there was sufficient supporting evidence to support the routine commissioning of abiraterone in this indication and it was ranked as the top priority for routine commissioning.

However, NHS England has not been able to identify the necessary recurrent funding to support the commissioning of abiraterone, or any other treatments within the prioritisation round. This position in being kept under review and will be progressed as soon as recurrent funding is identified.

This position takes into account the need to ensure the affordability of introducing any new routine commissioning policies, alongside maintaining existing services for patients, and meeting their legal requirement to fund all NICE approved drugs. Abiraterone for the treatment of high-risk, hormone sensitive, non-metastatic prostate cancer remains the top priority for routine commissioning.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to conduct a review into current fireworks legislation to determine whether it is fit for purpose and efficiently protects animals and vulnerable people.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is continuing to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities, including those supporting animals and vulnerable people, to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks to inform any future action and review into the current fireworks legislation.

The Government launched a public campaign on fireworks safety for this year’s fireworks season. The campaign also featured new guidance for those running community fireworks events which recommends the use of low-noise fireworks to reduce the impact on communities, as well as social media materials that emphasise the risks from the misuse of fireworks.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the 120 dB noise limit in protecting animals and vulnerable people from harm.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is continuing to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities, including those supporting animals and vulnerable people, to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks to inform any future action and review into the current fireworks legislation.

The Government launched a public campaign on fireworks safety for this year’s fireworks season. The campaign also featured new guidance for those running community fireworks events which recommends the use of low-noise fireworks to reduce the impact on communities, as well as social media materials that emphasise the risks from the misuse of fireworks.

Found: Current membership Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat; Oxford West and Abingdon) (Chair) Danny Beales (Labour

Found: Current membership Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat; Oxford West and Abingdon) (Chair) Danny Beales (Labour

Submit Evidence (by 13 Feb 2026)

The Committee is holding an inquiry into what is needed from the NHS estate to deliver the Government’s vision of a ‘Neighbourhood Health Service’ — shifting care from hospitals to integrated, preventative services in local communities.