Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of NHS provider financial controls on the recruitment of newly qualified nurses into Band 5 nursing posts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All National Health Service organisations have completed their financial plans for 2026/27, which meet the priorities set out in the Medium Term Planning Framework. These plans have been assured, including whether workforce plans are affordable. The details of the workforce plans, including recruitment at different bands, is for individual providers to decide. National assurance is about the robustness of underlying plan assumptions and affordability, and does not included an assessment of the impact of overall affordability on recruitment to individual bands.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many investigations the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has opened into the (a) advertising and (b) promotion of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use by private clinics since 1 January 2020; and how many have resulted in enforcement action.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Home Office and healthcare regulators in the development and implementation of the law change in 2018 to permit the prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use and their use in clinical research. These unlicensed medicines may be supplied under regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by available licensed medicines. The special need is determined by the prescriber.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the regulation of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The review will consider the matters raised and assess whether the legislation has had the desired impact. The commission also asks the ACMD to identify any unintended consequences that were not anticipated at the time of implementation and offer recommendations on how to mitigate these, including any inhibiting effect that the availability of cannabis-based products for medicinal use through private prescriptions has had on the incentive to conduct clinical trials to develop safe, effective, and cost-effective products for use via the National Health Service. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.
Private medical clinics offering unlicensed medicines that are supplied to fulfil special clinical needs under regulation 167 of Human Medicines Regulations 2012, can advertise services or consultations but not medicinal products. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has the power to investigate and take enforcement action when breaches, or suspected breaches, of medicines regulations are identified. One investigation concerning a cannabis-based product for medicinal use has been conducted since 1 January 2020, resulting in the company in question ceasing to advertise the product prior to any formal enforcement action.
The MHRA cannot comment on any cases where regulatory action is ongoing or planned, which may be prejudicial.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the application of Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to the supply of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use by private clinics.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Home Office and healthcare regulators in the development and implementation of the law change in 2018 to permit the prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use and their use in clinical research. These unlicensed medicines may be supplied under regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by available licensed medicines. The special need is determined by the prescriber.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the regulation of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The review will consider the matters raised and assess whether the legislation has had the desired impact. The commission also asks the ACMD to identify any unintended consequences that were not anticipated at the time of implementation and offer recommendations on how to mitigate these, including any inhibiting effect that the availability of cannabis-based products for medicinal use through private prescriptions has had on the incentive to conduct clinical trials to develop safe, effective, and cost-effective products for use via the National Health Service. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.
Private medical clinics offering unlicensed medicines that are supplied to fulfil special clinical needs under regulation 167 of Human Medicines Regulations 2012, can advertise services or consultations but not medicinal products. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has the power to investigate and take enforcement action when breaches, or suspected breaches, of medicines regulations are identified. One investigation concerning a cannabis-based product for medicinal use has been conducted since 1 January 2020, resulting in the company in question ceasing to advertise the product prior to any formal enforcement action.
The MHRA cannot comment on any cases where regulatory action is ongoing or planned, which may be prejudicial.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the (a) Care Quality Commission, (b) General Medical Council, (c) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and (b) the Secretary of State for the Home Office on the regulation of private clinics prescribing cannabis-based products for medicinal use.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Home Office and healthcare regulators in the development and implementation of the law change in 2018 to permit the prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use and their use in clinical research. These unlicensed medicines may be supplied under regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by available licensed medicines. The special need is determined by the prescriber.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the regulation of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The review will consider the matters raised and assess whether the legislation has had the desired impact. The commission also asks the ACMD to identify any unintended consequences that were not anticipated at the time of implementation and offer recommendations on how to mitigate these, including any inhibiting effect that the availability of cannabis-based products for medicinal use through private prescriptions has had on the incentive to conduct clinical trials to develop safe, effective, and cost-effective products for use via the National Health Service. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.
Private medical clinics offering unlicensed medicines that are supplied to fulfil special clinical needs under regulation 167 of Human Medicines Regulations 2012, can advertise services or consultations but not medicinal products. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has the power to investigate and take enforcement action when breaches, or suspected breaches, of medicines regulations are identified. One investigation concerning a cannabis-based product for medicinal use has been conducted since 1 January 2020, resulting in the company in question ceasing to advertise the product prior to any formal enforcement action.
The MHRA cannot comment on any cases where regulatory action is ongoing or planned, which may be prejudicial.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the safe prescribing of cannabis-based products for medicinal use.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Home Office and healthcare regulators in the development and implementation of the law change in 2018 to permit the prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use and their use in clinical research. These unlicensed medicines may be supplied under regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by available licensed medicines. The special need is determined by the prescriber.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the regulation of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The review will consider the matters raised and assess whether the legislation has had the desired impact. The commission also asks the ACMD to identify any unintended consequences that were not anticipated at the time of implementation and offer recommendations on how to mitigate these, including any inhibiting effect that the availability of cannabis-based products for medicinal use through private prescriptions has had on the incentive to conduct clinical trials to develop safe, effective, and cost-effective products for use via the National Health Service. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.
Private medical clinics offering unlicensed medicines that are supplied to fulfil special clinical needs under regulation 167 of Human Medicines Regulations 2012, can advertise services or consultations but not medicinal products. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has the power to investigate and take enforcement action when breaches, or suspected breaches, of medicines regulations are identified. One investigation concerning a cannabis-based product for medicinal use has been conducted since 1 January 2020, resulting in the company in question ceasing to advertise the product prior to any formal enforcement action.
The MHRA cannot comment on any cases where regulatory action is ongoing or planned, which may be prejudicial.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what dates the Cannabis Interchange Group has met since 1 January 2020; who attended each meeting; and whether she plans to publish the agendas, minutes and papers of those meetings.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is not aware of a group called “the Cannabis Interchange Group”. Officials from the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care liaise frequently on issues connected to the use of controlled drugs in healthcare, including Cannabis-based Products for Medicinal Use (CBPMs).
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to consider patient safety issues in its review of cannabis-based products for medicinal use, including prescribing to patients with serious mental illness, advertising by private clinics, prescribing volume oversight and cross-regulatory accountability.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Home Office and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the development and implementation of the law change in 2018 to permit the prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use and their use in clinical research. These unlicensed medicines may be supplied under regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by available licensed medicines. The special need is determined by the prescriber.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the legislation governing cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The Department, NHS England, and the MHRA are observers on the ACMD Cannabis-based Products for Medicinal Use Working Group to ensure close collaboration on impacts on the health system.
The review will consider the matters raised and assess whether the legislation has had the desired impact. The commission also asks the ACMD to identify any unintended consequences that were not anticipated at the time of implementation and offer recommendations on how to mitigate these, including any inhibiting effect that the availability of cannabis-based products for medicinal use through private prescriptions has had on the incentive to conduct clinical trials to develop safe, effective, and cost-effective products for use via the National Health Service. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ review of cannabis-based products for medicinal use will specifically consider prescribing to patients with serious mental illness, advertising by private clinics, prescribing volume oversight and cross-regulatory accountability.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Home Office and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the development and implementation of the law change in 2018 to permit the prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use and their use in clinical research. These unlicensed medicines may be supplied under regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by available licensed medicines. The special need is determined by the prescriber.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the legislation governing cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The Department, NHS England, and the MHRA are observers on the ACMD Cannabis-based Products for Medicinal Use Working Group to ensure close collaboration on impacts on the health system.
The review will consider the matters raised and assess whether the legislation has had the desired impact. The commission also asks the ACMD to identify any unintended consequences that were not anticipated at the time of implementation and offer recommendations on how to mitigate these, including any inhibiting effect that the availability of cannabis-based products for medicinal use through private prescriptions has had on the incentive to conduct clinical trials to develop safe, effective, and cost-effective products for use via the National Health Service. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of current arrangements for monitoring prescribing volumes of cannabis-based products for medicinal use by provider and prescriber.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Home Office and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the development and implementation of the law change in 2018 to permit the prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use and their use in clinical research. These unlicensed medicines may be supplied under regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by available licensed medicines. The special need is determined by the prescriber.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the legislation governing cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The Department, NHS England, and the MHRA are observers on the ACMD Cannabis-based Products for Medicinal Use Working Group to ensure close collaboration on impacts on the health system.
The review will consider the matters raised and assess whether the legislation has had the desired impact. The commission also asks the ACMD to identify any unintended consequences that were not anticipated at the time of implementation and offer recommendations on how to mitigate these, including any inhibiting effect that the availability of cannabis-based products for medicinal use through private prescriptions has had on the incentive to conduct clinical trials to develop safe, effective, and cost-effective products for use via the National Health Service. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the MHRA on the regulation of private clinics advertising consultations for cannabis-based products for medicinal use.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with the Home Office and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the development and implementation of the law change in 2018 to permit the prescribing of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use and their use in clinical research. These unlicensed medicines may be supplied under regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by available licensed medicines. The special need is determined by the prescriber.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the legislation governing cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The Department, NHS England, and the MHRA are observers on the ACMD Cannabis-based Products for Medicinal Use Working Group to ensure close collaboration on impacts on the health system.
The review will consider the matters raised and assess whether the legislation has had the desired impact. The commission also asks the ACMD to identify any unintended consequences that were not anticipated at the time of implementation and offer recommendations on how to mitigate these, including any inhibiting effect that the availability of cannabis-based products for medicinal use through private prescriptions has had on the incentive to conduct clinical trials to develop safe, effective, and cost-effective products for use via the National Health Service. The ACMD report is expected by summer 2026, and the Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations before taking any action.