§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in reducing local variations in prescription rates of disease modifying drugs for MS. [155582]
§ Mr. DenhamIt is because there appeared to be genuine uncertainty over the appropriate use of beta interferon, which was reflected in different prescribing patterns across the country, that we asked the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to conduct an authoritative appraisal of the evidence on disease-modifying drugs for multiple sclerosis. We expect NICE to produce its authoritative guidance in November, provided there are no appeals.