§ 65. Dr. Mawhinneyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many drugs were removed from the list of prescribed drugs in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThere is no list of drugs which may be prescribed in this country — doctors may prescribe any drug which they consider necessary for a patient. Those medicines which are placed on the United Kingdom market, however, require a licence granted under the Medicines Act 1968 and such licences may be revoked or not renewed in certain circumstances including cases where the licence holder asks for cancellation, or does not seek renewal, of a licence. Over the last four years the number of licences revoked or not renewed has been:
Number 1980 1,173 1981 1,144 1982 939 1983 1,273 The figures for 1979 are not comparable.