§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he intends to take in order to stop the practice of making medicines available by postcode area. [101358]
§ Mr. DenhamWe have said many times we recognise and will tackle unacceptable variations in access to care and treatment. That is why we have set up the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE will reduce post-code variations by issuing authoritative national guidance based on evidence of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of treatments.