Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the prescription of drugs by doctors is not influenced by financial payments from pharmaceutical companies.

The offer of gifts and benefits to healthcare professionals is strictly regulated under regulation 300 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. This provides that, where medicines are being promoted to healthcare professionals who prescribe or supply medicines, no gift, pecuniary advantage or benefit may be offered or supplied unless it is inexpensive and relevant to the practice of medicine or pharmacy. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency or the industry self-regulatory body, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority, would investigate any complaint about inappropriate payments made by pharmaceutical companies under this regulation.