§ Mr. LansleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the available896W capacity in England to implement the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's clinical guideline on the assessment and treatment of people with fertility problems; and if he will publish the full results of this assessment; [177215]
(2) what account was taken of national health service capacity during the development of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's clinical guideline on the assessment and treatment of people with fertility problems; and with whose advice; [177216]
(3) what steps he is taking to ensure that there is adequate capacity available to the NHS to implement in full the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's clinical guideline on the assessment and treatment of people with fertility problems. [177217]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonNational Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines, such as those for fertility services, are based on assessments of clinical and cost-effectiveness rather than national health service capacity. We recognise, as does NICE, that the NHS cannot reasonably be expected to implement the fertility guideline overnight, but primary care trusts (PCTs) will need to consider the detail of the guideline and review their services. We have advised all PCTs to offer, by April 2005, a minimum of one cycle in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to those who meet the clinical criteria, and to give priority to couples with no children living with them. We expect the NHS, overall funding for which is increasing from £56 billion to over £90 billion between 2003–04 and 2007–08, to make progress to full implementation in the longer term, including progress towards the maximum of three cycles of IVF which the guideline recommends.