Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on the issuing of a licence to Billy Caldwell for medicinal cannabis.

As you will be aware on the weekend of 16 -17 June the Home Secretary issued an emergency licence to Billy Caldwell to access a schedule 1 controlled drug.

This particular licence was issued as a short-term solution based on the urgency of the case and currently remains valid. For the longer term, either the Home Office or the Department of Health in Northern Ireland will need to consider a full Schedule 1 application from a senior specialist clinician. This can only happen if this is the course of action recommended by Billy Caldwell’s medical team.

The expert panel that has been established to consider applications to prescribe cannabis and cannabis based medicinal products is now operational and in a position to start considering applications.