Lords Committee Launches Inquiry Into Medicine Supply Issues In England

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.

Baroness Morris of Yardley, 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.”