Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support global reform of multilateral health organisations referred to in Written Statement HCWS1043, made on 11 November 2025, including improving coordination between Gavi, the Global Fund and other global health institutions.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is working with partners to drive reform of the multilateral system in line with the Lusaka Agenda, supporting countries to move along the path to self-sufficiency.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) support the work that the Global Fund and Gavi leadership are undertaking to drive greater impact, efficiencies and effectiveness at country level and to explore more structural options for collaboration in future.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits to the UK economy from the Global Fund’s partnerships with British research institutions, including in relation to innovations in HIV prevention and malaria control referenced in the Written Statement HCWS1043 made on 11 November 2025.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Global Fund's partnerships with British research institutions have supported innovations such as long-lasting insecticidal nets, improved HIV prevention, antiretroviral therapies, and strengthened community-led responses. Such partnerships drive scientific advancement, support skilled employment, and reinforce the UK's leadership in global health, delivering benefits to both global health and the UK economy.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Written Statement of 11 November 2025 (HCWS1043) on the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, what assessment her Department has made of the UK’s ability to sustain previous levels of investment in multilateral health partnerships; and what analysis she has commissioned on the projected impact of this reduced fiscal envelope during the 2026–28 replenishment cycle on projected health outcomes.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 September to Question 72441.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the role the Global Fund will play in improving global surveillance systems for infectious diseases, including early warning capabilities for antimicrobial resistance and future pandemics; and how this aligns with the UK’s national health-security strategy.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 1 September to Question 69322.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support and fund clinical trials aimed at achieving licensing and NHS access for complex, cannabis-based medicines used in the treatment of severe, drug-resistant epilepsy in children.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is funding two trials to investigate the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy in both adults and children. Further detail on the trials can be found on the NIHR’s website, at the following link:
https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR131309
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with epilepsy, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of the medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for epilepsy.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent manufacturing issues causing medicines shortages and to mitigate their impact.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are over 14,000 medicines and the majority are in good supply. While we can’t always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise, to mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing National Health Service communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients. Further information can be found in A guide to the systems and processes for managing medicines supply issues in England’.
The resilience of United Kingdom supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and strengthen our resilience. These actions were set out in a policy paper published in August 2025, Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines.
As part of that work, we continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver solutions. However, medicine shortages are a complex and global issue and everyone in the supply chain has a role to play in addressing them, and therefore continued action requires a collaborative approach.
Asked by: Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking through the UK Life Sciences Industrial Strategy to prevent incentives or regulatory reforms from enabling large pharmaceutical companies to increase medicine prices; and whether the Government will publish an impact assessment of how current industry pricing behaviours influence NHS drug costs and UK supply-chain resilience.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) controls the cost of sales of branded medicines to the National Health Service. The VPAG has a variable headline payment percentage, which accounts for changes to the cost of medicine sales to the NHS. The VPAG also contains a mechanism for allowing price increases for specific medicines. No scheme member may increase the NHS list price of any medicine without the Department’s prior approval.
Investing in the newest medicines so that patients can get access to life saving treatments is a critical part of a modern health care system and one that many charities and patient groups frequently call for. As part of our Life Sciences Sector Plan, we've committed to working with industry to accelerate growth in net spend on innovative medicines compared to the previous decade.
The resilience of United Kingdom supply chains is a key priority, and the Department and NHS England are committed to helping to build long term supply chain resilience for medicines. We are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and strengthen our resilience. As part of that work, we continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver solutions. However, medicine shortages are a complex and global issue and everyone in the supply chain has a role to play in addressing them, with any action requiring a collaborative approach.
Asked by: Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice - North Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of how major pharmaceutical companies’ pricing strategies affect the VPAG’s ability to control NHS spending; and what steps are being taken to prevent higher drug costs.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) controls the cost of sales of branded medicines to the National Health Service. The VPAG has a variable headline payment percentage, which accounts for changes to the cost of medicine sales to the NHS. The VPAG also contains a mechanism for allowing price increases for specific medicines. No scheme member may increase the NHS list price of any medicine without the Department’s prior approval.
Investing in the newest medicines so that patients can get access to life saving treatments is a critical part of a modern health care system and one that many charities and patient groups frequently call for. As part of our Life Sciences Sector Plan, we've committed to working with industry to accelerate growth in net spend on innovative medicines compared to the previous decade.
The resilience of United Kingdom supply chains is a key priority, and the Department and NHS England are committed to helping to build long term supply chain resilience for medicines. We are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and strengthen our resilience. As part of that work, we continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver solutions. However, medicine shortages are a complex and global issue and everyone in the supply chain has a role to play in addressing them, with any action requiring a collaborative approach.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support clinical trials for multi-compound cannabis-based medicinal products for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy in children.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is funding two trials to investigate the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy in both adults and children. Further detail on the trials can be found on the NIHR’s website, at the following link:
https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR131309
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with epilepsy, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. We are working to fast-track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, improve health outcomes, and accelerate the development of the medicines and therapies of the future, including treatments for epilepsy.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make a comparative assessment of the (a) growth and (b) global market share of the space industry in (i) the UK and (ii) other G7 countries.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As part of its ongoing space policy development, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) already makes comparative assessments of the growth and global market share of the UK space industry, drawing on data from a wide range of countries (including other G7 economies). These assessments ensure that the UK’s space sector performance is understood in its international context, using the latest available evidence.
The UK Space Agency’s (UKSA) Size and Health of the UK Space Industry 2024 report estimated the total income of the UK space sector to be £18.6 billion in 2022/23 and the 2023 report Expanding Frontiers has details about countries’ percentage market shares. DSIT will continue to analyse and monitor data on the UK’s place in the global space industry.