Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) increase awareness of and (b) improve access to the Cancer Drugs Fund; and if he will make a statement.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) appraises all newly licensed medicines and since 2016, has been able to recommend drugs for use within the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) where there is too much uncertainty to be able to recommend routine funding. For those drugs that receive this recommendation, the fund supports patient access while further real-world evidence is collected that informs a final recommendation by NICE on routine commissioning.

The CDF has helped many thousands of National Health Service patients to benefit from promising new medicines that would otherwise not be available to them. As of February 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has made 52 CDF recommendations, 24 of which have had guidance updated following a period of managed access, with 92% recommended for routine funding.

The Innovative Medicines Fund, launched in June 2022, builds on the successful Cancer Drugs Fund model and will support patient access to the most promising new medicines for all patients, not just those with cancer, faster than ever before.