Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the unbundling of new and emerging antibiotics from the national tariff to address the perceived cost barrier impeding optimal prescribing.

Requests for drugs to be reimbursed outside of national tariff prices are considered by a High Cost Drugs Steering Group, chaired by NHS England. Requests are judged against criteria, including whether the drug and its expected associated costs of care are disproportionately high compared to the other expected costs of care within the relevant Healthcare Resource Group, which would affect fair reimbursement.