Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a review of NICE’s methodology for technology appraisal is (a) planned and (b) under discussion as part of the renegotiation of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

The Government is committed to supporting the United Kingdom life sciences industry and ensuring that patients can access cost-effective innovative medicines and technologies at a price the National Health Service can afford. The Department has regular and ongoing dialogue with NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on matters related to medicines pricing and patient access to new treatments. We have been listening to industry feedback and discussing how the medicines market is likely to evolve over the next five years. Negotiations between the Government and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industries on future medicines pricing arrangements are ongoing. NHS England is involved in these negotiations.