Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport on what processes will be in place to add a drug to the list of those deemed to be in short supply following the UK’s departure from the EU.
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care regularly discusses ‘no deal’ contingency plans, including those relating to the supply of medicines and medical products, with a number of stakeholders, the National Health Service and other Government Departments. Furthermore, I engage with Ministerial counterparts in both the Welsh and Scottish Governments, as well as the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Health in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, on European Union exit ‘no deal’ preparations.
The Department has overall responsibility to ensure the continuity of supply of medicines and medical products for the whole of the United Kingdom; close engagement and cooperation with colleagues in the devolved administrations reflects this.