Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer to Question 224942 of 2 March 2015, for what reason NHS England requires successful individual funding requests to demonstrate exceptionality against a draft commissioning policy which has yet to be finalised; and if he will make a statement.

In the absence of guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, it is for commissioners to make funding decisions on the basis of the evidence available.

NHS England has advised that it considers individual funding requests against published clinical policies.