Letter from the Minister of State for Health and Social Care to the Chair of the Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC)
Published 26 January 2023
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To:
Christopher Hodges OBE
Chair, Regulatory Horizons Council
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
26 January 2023
Dear Christopher,
Regulatory Horizons Council report on medical devices
Thank you for your recommendations to government from the Regulatory Horizons Council on the regulation of medical devices.
As you know, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has conducted a public consultation on the future regulation of medical devices and published its response in June 2022. Alongside this work, the Regulatory Horizons Council report on medical devices has made a hugely valuable contribution to the topic, bringing together many of the issues that regulation will need to face to maximise the UK’s potential as a global leader in medical technologies.
Following the government response to the MHRA consultation, DHSC officials have produced a response to your recommendations, which I am pleased to enclose, outlining how we intend to address the issues raised and deliver a world-leading regulatory framework.
We have overwhelmingly accepted the report’s recommendations and the response sets out our commitment to tackle the key issues you have highlighted. It details how we will put the needs and safety of patients first by making patient engagement integral to the way we regulate, and how we plan to position the MHRA as a world-leading regulator, expanding our international engagement.
We outline our plans for both increasing capacity and delivering a long-term increase in UK-based regulatory expertise.
Finally, throughout our response we detail our approach to supporting innovation that is both safe and transformative for patients and the public.
I would like to thank Regulatory Horizons Council again for their insight and support in our endeavours to make the UK the best place to develop and introduce innovative medical devices. I look forward to your future work on other areas of innovation in medical technology.
Yours sincerely,
Will Quince MP
Minister of State, DHSC