Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the MHRA on conducting an audit of clinical-needs justifications submitted under Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 for cannabis-based products for medicinal use.

The Department and the NHS Business Services Authority have not received a request from the General Medical Council for data relating to named services or individual prescribers of cannabis-based products for medicinal use. NHS England routinely liaises with relevant regulators and shares information to support the safe management and use of controlled drugs. In June 2026, NHS England met the General Medical Council to discuss prescribing of cannabis-based products for medicinal use and subsequently shared information, including details of named medical prescribers.

NHS England has also provided information relating to Care Quality Commission-registered services to the Care Quality Commission, as the regulator of health and social care services in England.

Unlicensed medicines, including unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in humans may be supplied, according to Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, when there is a special clinical need that cannot be met by licensed available medicines. The special need, clinical in nature, is determined by the prescriber responsible for the care of the individual patient. According to Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, the prescriber is a person who is a doctor, dentist, nurse independent prescriber, pharmacist independent prescriber, or supplementary prescriber.

Clinical-need justifications submitted during the course of notifications to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to import unlicensed medicines is part of normal clinical practice, which is monitored by the relevant professional healthcare regulator and the royal colleges.