Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of demand for medication used to treat ADHD since 2010.

There are currently no plans to make such an assessment.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision, including for ADHD assessment and support, to meet the health and care needs of their local population, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. NICE guidelines for ADHD diagnosis and management aim to improve the diagnosis of ADHD and the quality of care and support people receive. The Department is looking into options for improving data collection and reporting on ADHD assessment waiting times, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way and in line with the NICE guidelines.

We are aware of global disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of ADHD. Medicine shortages are an ongoing issue that the Department has been managing for many years. Supply problems can arise for various reasons such as manufacturing issues, problems with the raw ingredients, sudden spikes in demand and batch failures. The Department has well established processes to manage and mitigate supply problems.