Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to help support people with Coeliac disease with the cost of food; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of widening access to gluten free products on prescription.

We recognise the pressures people are facing with the rising cost of living. Our extensive arrangements to help people afford National Health Service prescription charges mean that almost 89% of prescription items in England are already provided free of charge. For those who are not exempt from charges, pre-payment certificates can be used to cap costs at just over £2 a week for regular prescriptions.

The national prescribing position in England remains that gluten free bread and mixes can be provided to all coeliac patients on an NHS prescription, and a wide range of these items continue to be listed in part XV of the Drug Tariff. This means that prescribers can issue NHS prescriptions based on the individual preferences of their patients, while also being mindful of which product best suits the patient’s dietary needs.