Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report from the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee about the impact of Brexit on a shortage of medicine supplies at UK pharmacies.

There is no evidence to suggest the small number of current supply issues we are managing are related to European Union exit, or increasing because of it. We have well established processes to manage and mitigate supply issues from whatever cause, including manufacturing or distribution problems.

Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s priority. Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, there will be an implementation period running until the end of 2020, during which there will be no changes to the current trading arrangements with the EU. Therefore, if the Withdrawal Agreement is ratified, the supply of medicines will continue on the same basis it does now during this period.

Leaving without a deal remains the legal default at the end of the extension period if no withdrawal agreement is agreed. We are considering the impact of the EU exit date being extended until 31 October 2019 on our EU exit preparations and are working closely with our stakeholders to review our position.

We are confident that if everyone does what they need to do, the supply of medicines should be uninterrupted in the event that the United Kingdom exits the EU without a deal.