Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons (a) Colesevelam (cholestagel) and (b) other prescription medications are out of stock; and what steps he is taking to resolve the situation.

We are aware of a recent supply issue affecting Colesevelam (cholestagel) tablets. This was due to the manufacturer, Sanofi, experiencing distribution issues. However, these issues are now resolved and supplies of Colesevelam (cholestagel) tablets are available in volumes that are sufficient to meet normal United Kingdom demand.

Medicines shortages are an ongoing issue that the Department constantly manages.

Supply problems can arise for various reasons such as manufacturing issues, problems with raw ingredients and batch failures.

The Department has well established processes to manage and mitigate the small number of supply problems that may arise at any one time due to manufacturing or distribution issues.