Drugs: Northern Ireland

(asked on 11th May 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all over-the-counter medicines licensed for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are authorised to be placed on the market in Northern Ireland.


Answered by
Lord Bethell Portrait
Lord Bethell
This question was answered on 3rd June 2021

The Government is considering all possible steps to help ensure the continuity of medicine supply to Northern Ireland, including over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. All OTC medicines can be licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as the regulator for Northern Ireland, in line with the European Union’s rules.

The Department is working with the European Commission, as the representative of all EU Member States including Ireland, to resolve any outstanding issues relating to implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, including supply of OTC medicines. This includes discussions on medicines supply at recent meetings of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Specialised Committee attended by representatives from the EU Member States including Ireland.

The Government is working closely with industry to assess the impact of the Northern Ireland Protocol on the availability of medicines, including OTC medicines and we are committed to helping ensure the continuity of supply for patients in Northern Ireland.

We have provided guidance for manufacturers at the end of the transition period on how to maintain supply of medicines to Northern Ireland. We continue to work closely with industry partners, through our engagement channels and ad hoc queries and will continue to work alongside colleagues in the Border and Protocol Delivery Group and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to help ensure sector readiness for all implementation steps. We will set out the requirements for manufacturers to supply OTC medicines to Northern Ireland from 1 January 2022 in due course.

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