Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department has made available to Integrated Care Boards to enable them to prescribe medical cannabis products.

The framework of National Health Service clinical advice on prescribing medicines will apply to clinicians working in integrated care boards (ICBs) as they have done to those working in the structures that preceded them.

Licensed cannabis-based medicines are routinely available and funded on the NHS. However, for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines, clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions. NHS funding decisions follow clearly developed procedures that ensure equitable distribution of funding, prioritising those medicines that have proved their safety, quality, and clinical and cost effectiveness.

In addition to the NICE guidelines, the Chief Medical Officer and NHS England issued a letter on the 31 October 2018, and a supplementary letter on 20 November 2018, providing guidance to clinicians, the NHS and independent organisations following the rescheduling of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. This signposts guidance issued by the Royal College of Physicians, British Paediatric Neurology Association and Association of British Neurologists.

The Department has met with manufacturers of both licensed and unlicensed cannabis-based medicines and heard views on the regulatory framework surrounding these products.