Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is taking to regulate the practice of overseas online prescribers supplying medicines to UK residents.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) enforces the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, but it does not hold policy responsibility for regulating the prescribing or retail supply of medicines, which sits across various sector and professional regulators. Regulators have the powers to take action against any services putting patients in danger.

Furthermore, the Department recently conducted a call for evidence on private (non-NHS) prescribing, including online and overseas prescribing, to ensure patients can continue to safely access high-quality medicines through all legal routes. Officials are currently in the process of drafting the Government’s response to the call for evidence and considering next steps.