When she expects the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to complete its assessment of Velcade.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has not yet published a time scale for the completion of its appraisal of Velcade. The Department of Health is considering proposals from NICE to speed up significantly the appraisal process for important new drugs and health technologies.

Is the Minister aware that, on 20 July, the Secretary of State announced that Velcade would be fast-tracked for NICE assessment? However, since then 1,000 more patients have been diagnosed with myeloma in this country. Is the Minister aware that Velcade has already been approved in Scotland and Wales? Consequently, Welsh patients being treated in Hereford county hospital automatically receive the drug, but Herefordshire patients being treated in the same hospital do not. I am delighted that Welsh patients are receiving it, but will the Minister ensure that it becomes available to my constituents as soon as possible so that they can be treated with it in their own hospital?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for drawing those specific details to my attention. I agree that the process for appraising important new drugs has become too lengthy. That point has been made not only by him but by a number of other hon. Members in the House. We are working with NICE on plans to speed up the process by which new drugs and health technologies are appraised, while ensuring that the appraisal process remains robust and credible. It is unacceptable for primary care trusts and other health bodies to use a lack of NICE guidance as an excuse for refusing to consider evidence in reaching decisions on whether to make new treatments available on the NHS.

Can my right hon. Friend update the House on the progress of Herceptin, a drug that is very much on the mind of my constituents and those in the wider north Staffordshire area?

Yes, the House will be aware that the South West Peninsula health authority recently announced that it would allow treatment, on the condition that the patient is supported by the patient's clinician and that the patient is willing to receive the drug. There is nothing stopping other health authorities prescribing Herceptin if they wish. Patients can be prescribed an unlicensed drug, but this should be the exception, not the rule, because the licensing process is there to protect patient safety. It is a very important process. We should take care not to undermine it.

Is the right hon. Lady aware that it is not just Velcade that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is being asked to assess? Has she looked at Christopher Smallwood's report, which recommends that NICE consider the cost-effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine because he has established that there are various gaps in the provision—

Order. The hon. Gentleman is out of luck today. Perhaps another time.

I understand that the initial role of NICE was to put a stop to the postcode lottery in health care. Will my right hon. Friend clarify the current role of NICE in that regard, bearing in mind the extended time that it takes to approve some drugs that have possible life-saving benefits? The postcode lottery is alive and well, as we have heard, because some health authorities and local trusts prescribe drugs such as Herceptin before they have been approved for purpose while others do not.

Guidance from NICE has benefited thousands of patients and it is highly regarded internationally for its work on clinical and cost-effectiveness. Indeed, the World Health Organisation has commended its methodologies. While we have some of the fastest falling cancer death rates in Europe, I accept that there is more to do to improve the uptake of new medicines and treatments by the NHS, which is precisely why we are working with NICE to review the procedures.