Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to curb excessive disparities in the cost of dispensing (a) dermatology and (b) non-dermatology preferred unlicensed dermatological preparations; and what steps he is taking to ensure that all pharmacies in England obtain a whole-of-market quote from manufacturers of such preparations, as is the case in Scotland.

The Drug Tariff sets out what National Health Service dispensing contractors will be paid for the products supplied as part of providing pharmaceutical services and the fees for providing those services in primary care.

The current arrangements for paying for unlicensed medicines were introduced in 2011. These arrangements, unlike the ones for Scotland, do not require pharmacy contractors to obtain a whole-of-market quote from manufacturers. However, the Drug Tariff sets the price that the NHS pays to dispensing contractors for dispensing many of the most popular specials. Setting a reimbursement price, applied to all contractors, stops disparity of payment for these products and encourages dispensing contractors to obtain best value for the NHS, while also ensuring patients receive the medicines they need, when they need them. Due to the number of unlicensed medicines that can potentially be prescribed, it is not possible to list a reimbursement price for all available specials.

Where the reimbursement price of a product has not been set, dispensing contractors are paid according to how the product is sourced. Where a dispensing contractor buys the product from a specials manufacturer or an importing company, they must claim the invoice price of the pack size used to dispense the product minus any discounts or rebates received.

NHS England is responsible for commissioning pharmaceutical services in primary care and it is for NHS England to consider whether dispensing contractors have acted appropriately, including excessive claims for payment made by contractors. In addition, the General Pharmaceutical Council is responsible for regulating the pharmacy professions should there be any concerns of professional misconduct.