Lords seek assurance from Lord Frost on medicine supplies to Northern Ireland
Thursday 18 November 2021
The House of Lords Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland has written to Lord Frost to raise concerns about the potential impact on the supply of medicines to Northern Ireland if the standstill period ends without agreement on a permanent solution.
In its letter to the Minister, the Committee highlights evidence put to it by representatives of the pharmaceutical industry at its recent evidence session on 20 October 2021.
The Committee heard evidence on the implications for companies, including supermarkets and petrol stations, selling over-the-counter medicines.
The Committee heard that an estimated 52 per cent of over-the-counter products could be discontinued with medicines for pain relief including cold and flu remedies likely to be affected. The Committee was told that the practical impact of this would be that, instead of buying products to self-care and treat minor illnesses at home, consumers would have to go to a GP or A&E instead. Although companies would seek to ensure at least one major brand for each treatment would continue to be available, choice in Northern Ireland was likely to be limited.
Industry representatives welcomed the EU’s October ‘non-paper’ on medicines, in particular the agreement to a single marketing authority for the whole of the UK. However, they warned that the paper did not go far enough in resolving all the issues with medicines provision, including the need for a solution concerning Mutual Recognition and Decentralised Procedures.
The Committee further heard that the Government’s extension of the grace period for medicines had been “extremely helpful”, but with the pharmaceutical industry working on long time horizons and dependent on regulatory certainty, they stressed the need for a permanent solution mutually agreed with the EU, rather than unilaterally imposed by either side. The continued absence of a mutually agreed permanent solution would lead to continued uncertainty for business, with a negative effect not only on the pharmaceutical industry, but also on the people of Northern Ireland.
Lord Jay of Ewelme, Chair of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland Sub-Committee, said:
“Medicines is an issue that affects everyone in Northern Ireland, regardless of their political views.
“It is therefore imperative that the UK and the EU work together to come up with a workable and mutually agreeable solution for medicine supply to Northern Ireland as soon as possible, as continued uncertainty is damaging for the pharmaceutical industry, and therefore damaging for the people of Northern Ireland.
“I urge Lord Frost, together with his EU counterparts, to continue positive engagement with the pharmaceutical industry about their concerns and maintain this dialogue in the context of the continuing discussions between the two sides on the future of the Protocol.”
