To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the infrastructure payment for services proposed in her Department’s consultation, “Arrangements for the remuneration of services relating to appliances within Part IX of the Drug Tariff”, is proposed to apply to dispensing appliance contractors differently dependent on their output; and if she will make a statement. (140411)

In reviewing the arrangements under Part IX of the Drug Tariff, it has always been one of the Department’s stated objectives to ensure fair remuneration of valued services provided by the pharmacy and appliance contractors.

In the consultation document entitled “Arrangements for the remuneration of services relating to appliances within Part IX of the Drug Tariff”, it was proposed that dispensing appliance contractors would receive a banded infrastructure payment depending on the volume of prescription items dispensed in one particular month. The purpose of this payment is to cover elements of service that are less volume-related compared to dispensing, such as operating within a clinical governance framework, requirements relating to dispensing repeatable prescriptions and provision of clinical information.

Views were sought on this proposal and the consultation closed on 2 April 2007. The Department is still evaluating the responses and it is not anticipated that the overall review will be completed until the end of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans she has to trial the drug PTC124; (140823)

PTC124 is a drug currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. PTC Therapeutics, the company behind this drug, has not currently organised clinical trials in the United Kingdom.

We have no specific plans to fast track new drugs or therapies for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has not received an application to licence PTC124.