Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they are developing to create a barcoded stock management system for medicines, akin to the EU's falsified medicines directive.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The European Union’s Falsified Medicines Directive’s (FMD) primary purpose was to help prevent falsified medicines from entering the legal supply chain through the introduction of safety features on the packaging and verification at certain points of the supply chain to confirm authenticity. The monitoring and management of shortages was not part of its original legal framework.

There are provisions in the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 providing powers to enable the introduction of a similar system to the EU’s FMD’s ‘safety features’ and verification in the United Kingdom. However, the powers allow us to go beyond the FMD and use derived data from any system for other health related purposes. For example, to support the recall of medicines, to support patient care, research, policy development, and medicine supply, to prevent diversion and support patient access to medicines, and to counter fraud in primary care. Regulations would be needed to set out the details of any scheme, which would require consultation. Consideration is being given as to whether to consult on options for a potential UK system. Any consultation would be published in the usual way on the GOV.UK website.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made on where medicine shortage sits on the Department for Health and Social Care risk register, and what is its corresponding 'RAG' rating.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The current Department’s High Level Risk Register categorises the risk to the continuity of medicine supply as amber-red after consideration of the mitigations available. This assessment is continuously reviewed in light of changing external risks to the supply of medicines and actions are taken to further reduce the risk of medicine shortages.

When medicine supply issues occur, we have established processes and systems in place to limit the impact on patients. This has been set out in detail in our recent publications Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines and A guide to the systems and processes for managing medicines supply issues in England.

Found: In the absence of Baroness Morris of Yardley, Lord Carter of Coles was called to the Chair.

Found: Baroness Morris of Yardley Chair of the Public Services Committee House of Lords By email

Found: (Dr Kate Haworth) 11 Q 9 (Dr Kate Haworth) 12 Letter from the College of Policing to Baroness Morris of Yardley

Found: Rd London SE1 8UG 39 Victoria Street London SW1H 0EU 19 November 2025 Dear Noble Baroness Morris of Yardley

Found: Letter from Community Pharmacy England to Baroness Morris of Yardley, Chair, Public Services Committee

Found: : Medicines security Wednesday 12 November 2025 Noon Watch the meeting Members present: Baroness Morris of Yardley

Found: Medicines security Wednesday 12 November 2025 11 am Watch the meeting Members present: Baroness Morris of Yardley

Found: evidence: Medicines security Wednesday 5 November 2025 Noon Watch the meeting Members present: Baroness Morris of Yardley

Found: : Medicines security Wednesday 5 November 2025 11 am Watch the meeting Members present: Baroness Morris of Yardley