Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62448 on Asthma: Medical Equipment, how many patients with asthma receive their inhaler prescriptions (a) free of charge and (b) at the current prescription charge in the latest period for which data is available.

Whilst the NHS Business Services Authority collects data for the number of specific prescription items dispensed in England, it is not possible to determine the indication for which a medicine was prescribed. Given inhalers can be used to treat medical conditions other than asthma, for example chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, we are unable to determine how many were dispensed for the treatment of asthma.

From February to April 2025, dispensers in the community in England issued inhalation products to approximately 3,751,000 unique patients who did not pay a charge at the point of dispensing. This total includes items where no charge was collected due to a patient holding a valid pre-payment certificate.

Furthermore, from February to April 2025, dispensers in the community in England issued inhalation products to approximately 492,000 unique patients who did pay a charge at the point of dispensing. Figures are approximate, as a unique patient cannot always be identified from a paper prescription.