Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that clinical commissioning groups are made aware of NICE guidelines on fertility treatment.

NHS England is responsible for oversight of the commissioning system. I wrote to NHS England on 7 March asking that it re-emphasise to all those involved in commissioning fertility services that they should have regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) fertility guideline.

The Department, NHS England and professional and stakeholder groups are working together to develop benchmark pricing for fertility services to ensure that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) can get best value for their money. These partners are also developing commissioning guidance. This guidance aims to improve the quality of commissioning and encourage the full implementation of the NICE fertility guidance. NHS England has agreed to disseminate and promote the guidance to all CCGs in England.