Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the cause of the national shortage of Hormone Replacement Therapy products in the UK; and what steps he is taking to prevent a further shortage of the products.

The Department is aware of supply issues that have affected some hormone replacement therapy (HRT) preparations for various reasons including regulatory or manufacturing issues and commercial decisions made by some companies to divest some products. While a limited number of HRT products are currently affected, most HRT products including alternatives to those experiencing supply issues are currently available.

We have been working closely with all suppliers of HRT medicines to maintain overall access to patients and have provided regular updates about these issues and management advice to the National Health Service. The overall situation has been improving since the end of February 2020 and will continue to improve in the coming months.