Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria are used to determine the price of gluten-free products accepted by the Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances recommended list which forms Part XV of the Drug Tariff.

As with all borderline substances, any application for a gluten-free food product to be included in Part XV of the Drug Tariff must include a statement of the total price of the product to the National Health Service. Applicants must confirm that the total price of the product is inclusive of all distribution costs and indicate where they see their product being positioned within the current list of Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances (ACBS)-approved products. As part of its overall consideration, the Committee will benchmark the proposed price submitted by the applicant against similar products already included within Part XV.

The ACBS will only consider gluten-free food products based on white, brown or wholemeal grains that are considered to be “dietary staples”, including:

- plain breakfast cereals containing no added sugar;

- breads and rolls;

- crackers and crispbreads;

- flours and bread mixes;

- Pastas;

- pizza bases; and

- xanthan gum.