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Compassionate Use Medicine Schemes: VAT

I do not have the specific figures, but if I can access them, I would be happy to have noble Baroness receive them. It is important to step back here. As mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Pidgeon, patients are at the core of this and, as I said to the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, I do not want to alarm people. We are taking other actions; this is not an “instead of” but an “as well as”. For example, our raising the threshold for NICE in April meant that it could recommend three new medicines, which are helping those with muscular dystrophy, those as young as 12 with brain tumours and those who would benefit from a particular medicine for an aggressive form of stomach cancer. All these are not to do with compassionate use, but they are to do with NHS medicines and NICE approval. That will always remain at the core of our support for patients.