Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to make Circadin available in England to people suffering from insomnia caused by dementia.

The availability of treatments in Scotland is a matter for the devolved administration.

In England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based guidance on best practice in health and social care. NICE’s guideline on the assessment, management and support for people living with dementia and their carers, published in 2018, recommends that Circadin (melatonin) should not be offered to manage insomnia in people living with Alzheimer's disease, and that a personalised multicomponent sleep management approach that includes sleep hygiene education, exposure to daylight, exercise and personalised activities should be considered for people living with dementia who have sleep problems.

Further information about the evidence underpinning NICE’s guideline is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng97/evidence/full-guideline-pdf-4852695709

NICE does not make recommendations on the use of melatonin in the treatment of patients living with other types of dementia who have sleep problems.