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: 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 the impact of high launch prices set by major pharmaceutical firms on NICE’s cost-effectiveness assessments; and what steps are being taken to prevent such pricing from restricting patient access to new treatments.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether all new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with NICE’s recommendations, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.
NICE’s process ensures that new licensed medicines will only be routinely funded by the NHS where the evidence demonstrates that their costs are justified by the benefits that they bring for NHS patients. As part of NICE’s appraisal process, companies are able to propose patient access schemes to improve their value proposition with the aim of securing a positive NICE recommendation. NICE is able to recommend the vast majority of the medicines that it appraises, with 91% of medicines recommended for the NHS use in the last year.
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, how many (a) pregnancies and (b) abortions involving girls under the age of 16 have been reported by (i) NHS and (ii) independent abortion providers to (A) the police and (B) local authority safeguarding teams in each of the past five years; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that all such cases involving potential (1) rape and (2) sexual exploitation are being (a) referred, (b) investigated, and (c) prosecuted.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on the number of pregnancies and abortions involving girls under the age of 16 years old that have been reported by National Health Service and independent abortion providers is held by the police and local authority safeguarding teams.
We recognise the devastating impact sexual violence can have. The Government is committed to tackling rape and sexual offences and achieving the best possible outcome for victims. We expect every sexual offence to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity, and every investigation and prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.
The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress, published in April 2025, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to the final recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s report. This includes the introduction of mandatory reporting, requiring individuals working with children, including health professionals, to report child sexual abuse when they are made aware of it.
National mandatory safeguarding training for all NHS staff is being strengthened for launch in early 2026. This will reinforce to staff their safeguarding responsibilities and support them in identifying and responding to victims of abuse.
Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and abortion providers are required to have effective arrangements in place to safeguard children accessing their services. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained to recognise the signs of potential abuse and coercion and to know how to respond. In addition, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has published national safeguarding guidance for children under 18 years old accessing early medical abortion services, which aims to ensure that robust safeguarding processes are embedded in all services. We expect all providers to have due regard to this guidance.
Decisions to investigate and bring prosecutions in England and Wales are for the police and Crown Prosecution Service respectively.
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 he is taking to ensure access to omaveloxolone for adults with Friedreich’s ataxia.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon Member for East Antrim on 21 May 2025, to Question 52613.
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, for what reason graduates of UK medical schools are being given placeholder positions with four to eight weeks’ notice to move to new roles.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Some United Kingdom foundation programme applicants, including some final year UK medical students, have been assigned a placeholder in their allocated foundation school while their foundation posts can be confirmed. The process of confirming posts can take some time, as it is necessary to ensure that all placements are of adequate educational quality and meet the curriculum requirements for foundation training. All eligible applicants who are allocated to a foundation school are guaranteed a place on the programme.
NHS England has committed to communicating with the applicants in placeholders, and foundation schools have also been in regular contact with them. Each foundation school has provided specific communications relating to their processes, and have hosted a series of webinars or, where possible, spoken to each of the applicants individually. National webinars for affected applicants are also taking place in April and May.
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of prioritising UK medical school graduates' preference informed allocation over international medical graduates.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England keeps the selection process for foundation training under review to make sure it works well for applicants.
Internationally educated staff remain an important part of the workforce, and our Code of Practice for International Recruitment ensures stringent ethical standards when recruiting health and social care staff from overseas. However, the Government is also committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our National Health Service.
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, whether he has a planned timetable for making the ban on administering puberty blockers to children permanent.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has made clear his intention to consult on putting in place a permanent ban subject to the outcome of legal proceedings.
As this is matter is subject to legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.