Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of extending independent prescribing responsibilities to dieticians on (a) patient care and (b) efficiency.

No assessment has been made as there are no current plans to extend medicines responsibilities further to include independent prescribing for dietitians. Dietitians can already supply and administer medicines under Patient Group Directions and train to use supplementary prescribing.