Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received from (1) the MedTech Directorate, (2) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, (3) HMRC, and (4) the Department for Business and Trade, about (a) the import of urine drainage bags, (b) the security of supply of such devices, and (c) the cost to the NHS of imposing tariffs on such imports.

Information relating to representations made on this matter by different Departments and agencies is not held centrally. In 2021, the Government implemented temporary tariff suspensions on a set of goods, including urine drainage bags, to support the healthcare response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government has extended the majority of these suspensions until 31 December 2023. We have recently received stakeholder feedback on tariffs on urine drainage bags and are considering the evidence provided alongside wider United Kingdom Government analysis.