Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the consultation entitled Original pack dispensing and supply of medicines containing sodium valproate, published in November 2021, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the (a) proposal to always dispense those medicines in the original manufacturer's packaging and (b) other proposals in that consultation on consumers.

The amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to enable original pack dispensing of medicine and require whole-pack dispensing of medicines containing valproate were signed on 13 September 2023 and come into force on 11 October 2023.

An impact assessment was published on 19 March 2023 and is available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/1015/impacts

This impact assessment was informed by responses to the consultation that we held on the proposals and sets out the Department’s assessment of the impact of the regulation changes for original pack dispensing and whole pack dispensing of medicines containing valproate.