Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what policies NHS England has adopted for the funding of everolimus for patients with tuberous sclerosis.

NHS England has advised that decisions on which specialised services and treatments to invest in are based on an assessment of their effectiveness following clinical trials or other evidence of effectiveness, taking into account the views of expert clinicians and other stakeholders.

Over the coming weeks, the six Programmes of Care that are responsible for advising NHS England on specialised services will be drawing up the work programme for 2015-16, which will include developing a number of policies, including ones for the provision of everolimus for tuberous sclerosis for complex related renal angiomyolipoma and everolimus for Subependymal Giant Cell Astrocytoma.

In the meantime, NHS England does not routinely commission everolimus for the treatment of tuberous sclerosis, although it will consider funding it in exceptional clinical circumstances. Clinicians can submit individual funding requests for this treatment to us on behalf of their patients.