Medicine shortages across England are increasing, which in turn
impacts the health of patients, and puts significant pressure on
the NHS, Pharmacies and GPs. In order to examine this issue in
more detail, the cross-party House of Lords Public Services
Committee has launched an inquiry into the UK's ability to predict and
prevent medicine supply issues.
The inquiry will focus on the effectiveness of current strategies
to tackle medicine supply issues in England and their resilience
in the face of challenges in the procurement, supply and
distribution of medicine. The Committee will also be considering
innovative solutions to deal with the identified issues.
The Committee is inviting written evidence on questions
including;
- What are the causes of medicine supply chain issues in the
UK?
- How do Government and primary and secondary care providers
monitor stock levels across different parts of the supply chain
and how effective is this monitoring?
- To what extent is the Government able to predict supply chain
issues before they occur?
- What impact do procurement policies within primary and
secondary care have on supply chain resilience and how could
these be improved?
- To what extent is the UK an attractive market for investment
at all stages of the pharmaceutical supply chain, including
research, manufacturing, and supply?
The Committee has invited written evidence to be submitted by
23 September 2025 and expects to report on its
findings in early 2026.
, Chair of the
Public Services Committee said;
“The medical supply chain has become increasingly complex
encompassing sourcing, manufacturing, distribution and delivery
of medicines on a global scale. For this reason, the supply chain
has become more vulnerable to events including natural disasters,
international conflict and disease outbreaks. Such global issues
have the potential to seriously affect the resilience of our
medical supply in England and most importantly, potentially
damage the health of patients.
“As a result, we are interested in understanding how effective
the current strategies in England are for predicting and
preventing supply chain issues across both primary and secondary
care, and their future resilience in the face of different
challenges and threats. We'll also be looking to hear
evidence on any innovative solutions there might be to the issues
identified during the course of our inquiry, and how to better
predict and prevent any future medicine supply problems. Doing
this should alleviate pressure on pharmacies, the NHS and also
provide better medical care to patients.
“We are seeking evidence from a wide range of areas, including
organisations and people who work across the medical supply chain
and also people who have been directly affected by medical supply
issues. We will also be holding a number of oral evidence
sessions before producing a report where we will aim to make
practical recommendations that will improve all aspects of the
supply of medicine in England.”
