Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 July 2015 (HL1632), how many prescriptions for antidepressants have been issued in each year since 2014; what was the annual cost to the National Health Service of those prescriptions; and what guidance is given to doctors and patients about the use of antidepressants, their subsequent withdrawal and potential long-term effects.

The following table shows the latest data available on the number of prescriptions for antidepressants issued between 2014 and 2023, and the associated net ingredient cost:

The requirement to provide a patient information leaflet with licensed medicines in the United Kingdom is set out in Regulation 267 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. As set out in Schedule 27 of these regulations, the information that must be presented in the leaflet includes special warnings relevant to the safe use of the medicine, and instructions for proper use, including the risk of withdrawal effects and description of all side effects, both long and short term. The leaflet must reflect in lay language, the agreed Summary of Product Characteristics for a medicine, which would include information on risk of addiction, withdrawal and the long-term consequences of taking a medicine. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also set outs guidelines for the management and treatment of depression in adults.