§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the terms of reference of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. [73957]
§ Mr. HuttonThe National Institute for Clinical Excellence will be not be operational until April this year, the officers and non-officer members have yet to be appointed and the terms of reference will be a matter for the Board of NICE to discuss at its first meetings.
A discussion paper, Faster access to modern treatment, sets out its detailed proposals for how the National Institute for Clinical Excellence will carry out appraisals of clinical and cost effectiveness of individual health treatments. No firm decisions have been taken either on the topics to be referred to NICE, or on the precise methods of appraisal to be used.