Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on analyses of the causes of medicine shortages in the UK.

Medicines supply problems can occur for a number of reasons due to manufacturing difficulties, regulatory problems and problems with the supply of raw materials, or from issues which are related to the distribution of the product. The manufacture of medicines is complex and highly regulated, and materials and processes must meet rigorous safety and quality standards, so difficulties can arise for various reasons.

The Department is responsible for the security of supply of medicines and ensuring continued access to medicines for all patients is a key priority. There is a team within the Department, which deals specifically with medicine supply issues arising both in the community and hospitals and receives regular information from the pharmaceutical industry about impending medicine supply issues. It works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when they do arise.