Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria are used by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group, the Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group and the Directly Commissioned Services Committee in their assessment of medicines for the treatment of rare diseases.

The membership by role of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) and the Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group (SCOG) can be found in each group’s Terms of Reference which are published on NHS England’s website.

The criteria used by the CPAG and the SCOG can also be found in each group’s Terms of Reference. For those policies that require a commissioning decision in year then CPAG will use the In Year Service Development policy.

Copies of CPAGs Terms of Reference, SCOGs Terms of Reference and the In Year Service Development policy are attached.

The Directly Commissioned Services Committee has now ceased to exist. NHS England has advised that the first meetings of the new Commissioning Committee and the Specialised Commissioning Committee are expected in January. Membership of these committees has not yet been finalised.