Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the (1) costs or (2) savings to the NHS of restricting the availability of gluten-free foods on prescription.

The cost to the National Health Service of prescribing gluten-free foods in 2017 was £15.7 million. This was the net ingredient cost (NIC) of the products and did not include associated costs such as pharmacist dispensing fees and primary care consultation costs. Following a public consultation on the ‘Availability of Gluten Free Foods on NHS Prescription in Primary Care’ launched on 31 March 2017, the Government has decided to restrict the prescribing of gluten-free foods to bread and mixes only. This will save £2.6 million of the NIC plus associated savings.