To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to reduce variations in access to rare disease medicines in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

All issues relating to healthcare provisions are matters for the devolved administrations.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether selected medicines for rare diseases and other treatments should be routinely funded by the National Health Service in England through its technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies programmes.

NHS commissioners in England are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended by NICE to ensure consistent access across England. In the absence of NICE guidance on a treatment, commissioning decisions are made locally by individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). CCGs make funding decisions based on the needs of their population. Commissioning is about getting the best possible health outcomes for the local population and this involves assessing local needs and deciding priorities and strategies.