Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle regional disparities in the (a) distribution and (b) availability of essential medications.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated, and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues, and regulatory issues. We have drawn on up-to-date intelligence and data on the root causes of medicine supply issues, with manufacturing problems being the most dominant root cause.

The resilience of UK supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and to strengthen our resilience. As part of that work, we continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver solutions. We have plans underway to increase the awareness of our work.

The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to restore Official Development Assistance to 0.7 percent of gross national income in the context of the Spending Review.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

To enable the government to invest more in security and defence, while remaining committed to our fiscal rules, the Prime Minister has taken the difficult decision to reduce Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the equivalent of 0.3% of GNI by 2027. The Spending Review (SR) 2025 ODA settlement delivers on this. The government remains committed to returning spending on ODA to 0.7% of GNI when the fiscal circumstances allow. The government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely, and each year will review and confirm, in accordance with the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, whether a return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast.

Found: to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Jews, whose chairs David Simmonds CBE MP and Dan Tomlinson

Found: McIntosh of Hudnall Luke Myer Dr Al Pinkerton Lord Shinkwin Rebecca Smith Lord Taylor of Holbeach Dan Tomlinson

Cyprus APPG
Tuesday 10th June 2025

Found: General Meeting on 4 March 2025 Members Present: Bambos Charalambous MP, Sir Roger Gale MP, Dan Tomlinson

London APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: the G15) • Stevan Tennant, Managing Director Developments – Ballymore Also in attendance: • Dan Tomlinson

London APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Jan Shapiro – Headteacher, Addey & Stanhope School Also in attendance: • Liam Conlon MP • Dan Tomlinson

East of England APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: went on to welcome all MPs, Peers and wider stakeholders and in particular our key speakers, Dan Tomlinson