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 reclassifying medicines from prescription-only to over-the-counter on costs to the NHS.

The Government supports the reclassification of prescription only medicines (POMs) to over the counter (OTC) medicines, including for cost savings to the National Health Service, where it is safe and appropriate to do so, as this can improve patient access and support selfcare while maintaining high standards of public health protection.

Decisions on whether POMs can be safely reclassified for OTC sale are taken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency following an assessment of the safety, quality, and efficacy of the medicine and whether it can be appropriately used without the direct supervision of a prescriber.