§ Mr. Jon Owen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanism the Government proposes for the expansion of the limited list; and what effects he expects this expansion to have on the health of patients.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe Government have identified 10 additional categories of drugs for the selected list scheme. Decisions on which individual drugs may no longer be available on national health service prescription will be taken on the advice of the independent Advisory Committee on NHS Drugs. This will ensure that drugs to meet real clinical needs can be provided as economically as possible under the NHS. The health of patients will not be adversely affected.
§ Mr. Jon Owen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made on the effect of the United Kingdom pharmaceutical industry and the consequent effect on public expenditure of the limited list changes in respect of drugs active on the skin.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe selected list scheme is intended to help control the rise in the national health service drugs bill. The decision to extend the scheme to include additional categories of drugs, including drugs acting on the skin, will strengthen this objective and help to limit the growth of public expenditure. We cannot at this stage assess the specific effect of the selected list scheme separately from the many other factors influencing the pharmaceutical industry in the United Kingdom and other markets.