Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government plans to continue to participate in the European Reference Networks for patients with complex or rare medical conditions after the UK leaves the EU and the expiry of the implementation period.

The Government has noted the importance of continued collaboration with European partners in the 2017 policy paper ‘Collaboration on Science and Innovation: A Future Partnership Paper’. European Reference Networks (ERNs) for rare diseases patients were cited in the paper as an example of collaboration that the United Kingdom and European Union should discuss in the negotiations, given the mutual benefit.

The Government has set out three key principles in developing a new regulatory system post EU exit: patients should not be disadvantaged; innovators should be able to get their products into the UK market as quickly and simply as possible; and we continue to play a leading role promoting public health. The Government will be guided by these principles in its negotiations with EU partners.