Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of infant formula shortages on families in Leicester, particularly those on lower incomes or with limited access to alternative formula supplies.

The Department’s National Supply Disruption Response, (NSDR), acts as the single point of contact for the medical supply industry. The NSDR has been engaged along with the Food Standards Agency to support the incident with infant formula products and specialised prescribable infant formula products, since early January this year, when we were first made aware.

Although no separate assessment was made of the localised impacts in Leicester, or any other single region, a national approach was taken to safeguard the clinical needs of the most vulnerable patients across the country. This involved securing unaffected stock for redistribution to those in the greatest needs in both hospital and home settings, whilst working closely with industry to identify suitable alternatives.

The original supply issue was resolved in mid-February 2026, and subsequently a letter was issued to all prescribing authorities to notify them that impacted prescribable items had returned to normal stock and were therefore available to prescribe again.

The Department continues to work closely with NHS England and other national agencies on the supply positions, operational impacts, and alternative products for all such incidents, using well-established coordination arrangements.