Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to clinical commissioning groups on the provision and availability of fertility treatments.

The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.

NHS England expects that all those involved in commissioning infertility treatment services to be fully aware of the importance of having regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) fertility guidelines. CCGs have a legal duty to have regard to NICE guidelines.

Following a meeting with Fertility Fairness in December 2015, officials from the Department and NHS England are considering options for addressing variation in the prices that CCGs are currently paying for in vitro fertilisation treatment.