Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what procedures are in place to ensure that clinical commissioning groups fund preventative medicines in accordance with NICE guidelines.

National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal guidance, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance, including preventative medicines.

NICE guidelines represent best practice, are based on the available evidence, and are developed through wide consultation. As best practice, NHS organisations should take them into account in the care and treatment of patients, but they are not associated with the funding requirement that applies to NICE technology appraisals.