Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account was taken of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme during his Department's recent review of the financial sustainability of the Cancer Drugs Fund.

When NHS England carried out their recent review of drugs included in the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) they were aware of the estimates of Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) Payments taken into account in setting the NHS England budget for 2014-15 and 2015-16. The principles and procedures followed by NHS England in operating the CDF are set out in their Standard Operating Procedures for the Fund at:

http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/

Drugs provided by the CDF are included within the PPRS cap.

The allocations to NHS England for 2014-15 and 2015-16 were set in advance of each relevant financial year, taking into account the anticipated PPRS Payments in each year, as set out on the Government’s website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/385782/2014_pprs_revised_forecasts_profile_payment_percentages.pdf