Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions for unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use have been funded by the NHS in England in each year since November 2018.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England, including private clinics that prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs). Private providers must be registered with the CQC and are inspected against standards relating to safety, quality, and safeguarding. To ensure the legislative framework remains safe and fit for purpose, my Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to undertake a comprehensive review of the 2018 changes to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations that enabled access to CBPMs.

Data on National Health Service prescriptions for unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use are withheld because the number of patients receiving these products is fewer than five nationally, creating a risk of patient identification under United Kingdom data protection legislation.

The Government recognises that some patients face significant costs when accessing unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use privately. However, the cost of treatments obtained through private prescribing arrangements is a matter between patients and providers.

The Department has not made an assessment of the average annual cost incurred by patients who obtain CBPMs through private prescriptions, nor has it made a comparison between those costs and the cost of an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate.