Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of NHS tariff thresholds on pharmacies' ability to source medicines.

Evaluations by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) ensure that spend on new medicines represents a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources.

NICE thresholds should not have any impact on pharmacies’ ability to source medicines. Community pharmacies source the drugs they need to dispense against NHS prescriptions and will be reimbursed according to the prices and arrangements set out in the Drug Tariff. The United Kingdom has well established ways of managing the cost of medicines, ensuring pharmacies are appropriately reimbursed and clear processes in place to protect against risks to supply.