Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage consultants to prescribe medicinal cannabis to children with severe drug resistant epilepsy.

The prescription of any medicine is a clinical decision. The Government has enabled the prescription of cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs) where it is clinically appropriate.

The licensed cannabis-based medicine Epidyolex is routinely prescribed for two forms of epilepsy. However, clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence demonstrate a clear need for further evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed CBPMs. We continue to encourage manufacturers of these products to conduct research and we are working with regulatory, research and National Health Service partners to establish clinical trials to enable evidence based prescribing decisions.