Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to provide free formula feed to mothers living with HIV who have been advised not to breastfeed.

General practitioners (GPs) can prescribe any product considered necessary for the treatment of their patients, unless it appears on a list of specific exclusions published under the NHS (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs etc.) Regulations 2004. Prescriptions dispensed to children under 16 years old are free of charge.

GPs and other prescribers are responsible for their prescribing decisions. Where doctors prescribe products which are available over the counter, we expect this to happen for good clinical reasons and represent value for money for the National Health Service.