Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2014 to Question 216943, what other (a) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines and (b) clinical guidance currently addresses the use of off-patent drugs for treating particular conditions; and where in those guidelines such use is addressed.

Off-patent (generic) drugs are widely used in the National Health Service and guidance on their use is included in numerous pieces of guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and also in other sources of clinical guidance such as the British National Formulary, specialty association publications and any local prescribing policies.

This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportional cost.