Nick Clegg speaks to iVillage.co.uk

Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, spoke exclusively to iVillage.co.uk about some of the key issues affecting women in the UK

Mr Clegg took time out of his busy schedule to answer questions put forward by members of the iVillage Community .

I would be interested to hear your views on the situation where there are drugs and medications being produced which could make a difference to people's lives but which are being denied on the grounds of cost. Bearing in mind the amount of money which has been poured into charities by the public, such as Cancer Research, it seems wrong to deny the public access to drugs which could help them significantly.
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Nick Clegg: I know how important this is to people up and down the country - an extra week or year of life could mean everything to many.

Of course, with the rising cost of drugs, we have to make some incredibly difficult choices and it won't always be possible to fund every new drug.

But if there's one thing that's clear, it's that we need to make sure that every penny of NHS money is being spent as well as it can be. At the moment, far too much goes on middle management and unnecessary layers of bureaucracy - and on maintaining central control. Every penny we can save is a penny we can put into frontline services, including making sure we can afford innovative drugs for people who need them.