Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken recent steps to reduce regional variations in the availability of hormone replacement therapies.

Regional information is not held centrally, however, there are over 70 hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products available in the United Kingdom and the vast majority are in good supply. We are regularly engaging with individual suppliers to prevent and mitigate supply issues in the short and long term. The HRT supply position has improved considerably since last Spring.

Local or system level formularies have been established in some areas to support integrated care boards (ICBs) in making the best use of resources based on local population needs. Where they are in place, local formularies guide prescribers to preferred products rather than mandating what they can and cannot prescribe. Prescribers are still able to prescribe medicines that are not listed on a formulary.