Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the findings of the EFPIA Patients W.A.I.T. Indicator 2024; and (2) the case for health technology assessment reform at NICE to improve the availability of innovative therapies on the NHS.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is able to recommend the vast majority of medicines for use in the National Health Service. Analysis from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations’ waiting to access innovative therapies indicators, published in May, showed that England’s ranking had improved from 9th to 6th for the total rate of availability of innovative medicines compared to last year’s report.

NICE keeps the methods and processes it uses to develop its recommendations under review to ensure that they are appropriate to emerging technologies and represent best practice. The Life Sciences Sector Plan, published in July, states that any future changes through NICE’s modular updates can be considered where they are evidence based, financially sustainable, and represent value to the taxpayer. This ensures that new medicines do not displace funding for other more effective treatments and services that are so important to delivering high-quality care for patients.