Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the potential impact of benzodiazepine use on (a) dementia risk, (b) brain health and (c) cancer risk.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assess the available data and, where appropriate, seeks the advice of the Commission on Human Medicines, the MHRA’s independent advisory committee, to inform decisions. All data relating to the safety of a medicine must be held by the Marketing Authorisation Holder and the MHRA notified about any data which impacts the safety of their products.

The MHRA holds information that has been reported through the Yellow Card scheme regarding suspected adverse reactions, which may include dementia, neurological disorders or cancers, and details of the suspected adverse reactions reported are available on the MHRA website. Published literature on the impact on dementia risk, brain health and cancer risk is not specifically held by the MHRA but can be accessed to support safety evaluations.