Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of potential merits of NICE guidance for (a) Tourrette syndrome and (b) other tic disorders.

Decisions on which topics the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will develop guidelines on are made by its cross-agency topic prioritisation (CATP) group. The CATP is a formal group that includes senior executives from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), NHS England, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Department.

When deciding which topics to develop guidelines on, and in what order, the group takes into account factors such as the health and care burden, the evidence base and variation in practice. The group met on 2 November 2022 to discuss the topic of Tourette syndrome and did not consider this topic to be a priority for guidance development at this time.

NICE’s guideline on suspected neurological conditions covers the initial assessment of symptoms and signs that may indicate a neurological condition and makes recommendations on tics and involuntary movement in children. Best practice guidance on the management of Tourette syndrome is accessible from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and available at the following link: https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/1042