4th Report - Medicines security—a national priority
- HC No.
- Not recorded
- Published
- 4 Feb 2026
- Items
- 0
- Government response
- Government response published 15 April 2026 (deadline 4 April 2026). Read the government's response ↗
Select committee: Public Services Committee
Medicines security
Open
Opened 5 Aug 2025
Public Services Committee Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Inquiry scope (the committee's words)
Medicine shortages across England are increasing, which in turn impacts the health of patients, and puts significant pressure on the NHS, Pharmacies and GPs. The aim of this inquiry is to understand the causes of medicine shortages, and understand the UK's capabilities in predicting and preventing medicine supply issues, and minimising patient harms. Read the key points in our enhanced report summary
Where it stands
The inquiry is open, opened 5 August 2025.
The committee has published 1 report, most recently 4th Report - Medicines security—a national priority on 4 February 2026.
The government's response
Published 15 April 2026. The deadline was 4 April 2026.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with the committee on the importance of patient impact, domestic manufacturing and international co-operation, but disagrees on adding medicine supply failure to the National Risk Register and on MHRA licensing speed.
- On the National Risk Register, it considers that the Register and broader activities "provide a critical input" and states: "We do not believe that explicitly including risk to medicine supplies is required."
- On supply chain data, it says current legislation "does not support mandated data sharing when a supply issue does not exist", and that a consultation on amending the 2018 Regulations proposes enhancing the scope of enquiries and strengthening the compliance regime.
- On MHRA licensing, it says: "We do not, however, agree with the report's statement that MHRA is slower than comparable regulators in other countries."
- It states it will respond "in due course" to the pharmacist flexibilities consultation, will consult "in due course" on medicine pack barcodes, and will update on progress against its summer 2025 commitments "later this year".
Reports
- 4th Report - Medicines security—a national priority4 February 2026
Evidence
- 5 oral evidence sessionsLatest 10 December 2025
- 19 witnesses
Recent activity
- Letter from Department of Health and Social Care to the Public Services Committee - Government Response - Medicines Security Report (1 April 2026)15 April 2026, Report published
- 4th Report - Medicines security—a national priority4 February 2026, Report published
- Letter from Dr Zubir Ahmed MP to Chair of Public Services Committee - Additional Information Following Ministerial Evidence Session (27 January 2026)27 January 2026, Correspondence
Reports
Oral evidence sessions
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| Date | Session and witnesses | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Dec 2025 |
Evidence Session 7 - Dr Zubir Ahmed and David Simmons (Uncorrected)
David Simmons · Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC),
Dr Zubir Ahmed MP · Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
|
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| 12 Nov 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Darius Hughes · Moderna,
David Watson · The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI),
Dr Martin Turner · Bioindustry Association,
Ian Wariner · Orion Pharma (UK),
Mark Samuels · British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA),
Paul White · Besins Healthcare UK Limited
|
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| 5 Nov 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Amandeep Doll · Royal Pharmaceutical Society,
James Davies · Community Pharmacy England,
Malcolm Harrison · Company Chemists' Association,
Martin Sawer · Healthcare Distribution Association (HDA),
Mr Andrew Davies · NHS England,
Mr Richard Bowers · Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
|
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| 22 Oct 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Andrew Howard · Schroders,
Claire Foreman · NHS England,
David Simmons · Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
|
View ↗ |
| 15 Oct 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Dr Emilia Vann Yaroson,
Dr Keith Ridge,
Dr Paul-Enguerrand Fady · The Centre for Long Term Resilience (CLTR)
|
View ↗ |
Who gave evidence
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| Witness | Organisation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| David Simmons · Director for Supply Resilience and Medicines | Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) | 2 |
| Amandeep Doll · Director for England | Royal Pharmaceutical Society | 1 |
| Andrew Howard · Global Head of Sustainable Investment | Schroders | 1 |
| Claire Foreman · Director of Medicine Policy and Strategy | NHS England | 1 |
| Darius Hughes · UK General Manager | Moderna | 1 |
| David Watson · Executive Director of Economic, Health and Commercial Policy | The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) | 1 |
| Dr Emilia Vann Yaroson | Not recorded | 1 |
| Dr Keith Ridge | Not recorded | 1 |
| Dr Martin Turner · Director of Policy and External Affairs | Bioindustry Association | 1 |
| Dr Paul-Enguerrand Fady · Bio Security Manager | The Centre for Long Term Resilience (CLTR) | 1 |
| Dr Zubir Ahmed MP · Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State | Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) | 1 |
| Ian Wariner · Country Manager | Orion Pharma (UK) | 1 |
| James Davies · Director of Research and Insights | Community Pharmacy England | 1 |
| Malcolm Harrison · Chief Executive | Company Chemists' Association | 1 |
| Mark Samuels · CEO | British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) | 1 |
| Martin Sawer · Executive Director | Healthcare Distribution Association (HDA) | 1 |
| Mr Andrew Davies · Former National Director of Hospital Pharmacy | NHS England | 1 |
| Mr Richard Bowers · Medicines Procurement and Supply | Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | 1 |
| Paul White · Head of Legal | Besins Healthcare UK Limited | 1 |
Correspondence
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Meetings & visits
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| Date | Type | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Jan 2026 | Formal meeting (private meeting) | Not recorded · Room 3A, Palace of Westminster | |
| 14 Jan 2026 | Formal meeting (private meeting) | Not recorded · Room 2A, Palace of Westminster | |
| 19 Nov 2025 | Formal meeting (private meeting) | Not recorded · Room 4A, Palace of Westminster |