What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the previous Government's directive not to prescribe diabetes medication for non-licensed purposes on the availability of insulin stock; and what steps he is taking to safeguard those with diabetes from fluctuations in insulin availability.
There are ongoing global supply issues with some medications used to treat diabetes, and we continue to work closely with all manufacturers of insulin and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists to improve the situation and ensure alternatives remain available for patients. We have issued communications to National Health Service healthcare professionals, providing comprehensive management guidance, advice, and information to allow them to support their patients in the management of the supply issues.Clinicians can prescribe medicines outside their licensed indication, which is known as off-label use, where they consider it to be the best treatment option for their patient, and, if in the NHS, subject to funding by the NHS locally. However, our guidance is clear that the groups of medicines for diabetes, such as glucagon like peptide receptor agonists that are licensed to treat type 2 diabetes, should only be used for their licensed indication and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss. The General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of health and care professionals meeting regulatory standards, including taking into account our guidance when prescribing these medicines.