Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the current NICE QALY threshold on (a) patient access to innovative medicines and (b) the UK’s competitiveness in attracting life sciences investment.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE is able to recommend most new medicines for use by the NHS, with a 91% approval rate for completed appraisals in the last 12 months.

As committed to in our Life Sciences Sector Plan, we will work with industry to accelerate growth in the net spend on innovative medicines over the course of this plan compared with the previous ten years, particularly for those medicines that help keep people out of hospital. Together, this will help ensure that by 2030, the United Kingdom will be one of the top three fastest places in Europe for patient access to medicines.

The Life Sciences Sector Plan also committed to faster patient access to medicines and reduced industry costs, while ensuring good value for the NHS. A Growth Mandate on NHS commercial activity will drive focus on activity which is growth-maximising and will ensure that promoting innovation is seen as an institutional objective alongside achieving value for money. A new, proportionate approach to NICE appraisals and indication-specific pricing will streamline access for multi-indication medicines with strong outcomes and low affordability risk. These commitments will create a more agile, predictable commercial environment that supports investment into the UK.