Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a non-disclosure agreement was made between Public Health England and the National Guideline Centre in relation to the review of literature on prescribed medicines.

‘Prescribed Medicines: An Evidence Review’ is a public health evidence review of the published evidence and available data. This process is distinct from a public inquiry so the inclusion of individual testimonies would not be appropriate.

Public Health England (PHE) is aware of the importance and relevance of the experience of patients in understanding the issues. The review will give significant prominence to the patients’ experiences and examine existing service models through published research and other methods, for example analysis of annual reports of various withdrawal charities.

The call for evidence was open to all parties, including pharmaceutical companies. The call for evidence has now closed. The National Guideline Centre (NGC) will provide details on the evidence submitted in their rapid evidence assessment report. The report is due in early 2019.

A non-disclosure agreement was not made between PHE and the NGC in relation to the review of literature on prescribed medicines.