Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of decreasing NHS spending on pharmaceuticals on the attractiveness of the UK as a location for research and development.

The most important attraction for companies considering investing in research in the United Kingdom is the availability of world-class scientific expertise, which is the focus of the Government’s effort to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of global research and development. There is no obvious reason why National Health Service spend on pharmaceuticals should significantly affect decisions to invest in research and development in the UK. NHS spending on pharmaceuticals has risen by 41% between 2007/08 and 2016/17.