Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the Library each estimate that has been provided to Government since January 2019 on the potential reduction in medicine flows from the EU to the UK in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a Withdrawal Agreement if the Government (a) takes and (b) does not take steps to mitigate those reductions.

The Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for leaving the European Union. We want to reassure patients that our plans should ensure the uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical products once we have left the EU.

The Government has published its reasonable worst-case planning assumptions for a no-deal EU exit scenario as of 2 August 2019. These assumptions are available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/831199/20190802_Latest_Yellowhammer_Planning_assumptions_CDL.pdf

My Department, as part of our EU exit preparations, is implementing a multi-layered approach to mitigate potential disruption to supply on the Channel short straits routes, which consists of stockpiling where possible, securing freight capacity, changing or clarifying regulatory requirements, procuring additional warehousing, working closely with industry to improve trader readiness and putting in place the National Supply Disruption Response to manage potential shortages. Further details can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/medicines-and-medical-products-supply-government-updates-no-deal-brexit-plans.