Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to help streamline processes for future medical innovations so they are available in similar timeframes to covid-19 treatments.

The Government is committed to supporting timely patient access to promising and innovative new treatments. Our Life Science Vision published in 2021 set out our ambition to build on the scientific successes and ways of working from COVID-19 to tackle the biggest disease challenges.

The United Kingdom’s participation in Project Orbis and the creation of the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) are already enabling the more rapid review and approval of promising new medicines. In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is introducing a more proportionate approach to appraisals that will create more flexibility in its medicine evaluation processes and speed up access for patients.