Key Summary
- The committee said the government only takes reactive actions after the shortages have occurred.
- It also does not effectively communicate shortages or solutions to frontline staff such as pharmacists and GPs.
- There is little oversight from the Department of Health and Social Care regarding medicine stocks.
A House of Lords public services committee has called for treating medicine security as a national security issue, and wants the government to strengthen the supply chains.
In a report titled 'Medicines security - a national priority', the committee stated that medicine shortages are not prioritised as a potential national security issue, though their absence could pose a risk to people’s health.
It also noted that the UK Government and NHS, which play a key role in ensuring medicine supply, lack oversight and coordination over medicine resilience.
The committee, in its findings, said the government is not proactive in protecting the UK from fragile supply chains, and it takes reactive actions after the shortages have occurred.
It also does not effectively communicate shortages, or solutions, to frontline staff such as pharmacists and GPs.
There is little oversight or leadership from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) regarding medicine stocks, nor the potential risks against critical medicines, whose absence may impact patients.
Around 73 percent of pharmacy workers in 2025 have stated that ongoing issues with medicines supply were putting patients at risk.
The committee noted that a majority of active ingredients required for NHS medicines are controlled by China, India or other single sources.
This leaves UK patients at risk from reliance on fragile global supply chains, which could be affected by geopolitical changes, trade or national disasters in these regions.
Though 80 percent of the NHS-prescribed medicines are ‘generic’, which can be made by any manufacturer, only a quarter of these drugs are made in the UK.
The report recommends that the government should accept that medicine security is a national security issue.
The Government needs to improve how it shares information with care providers about medicine availability throughout the supply chain, and ensure that GPs, hospitals and community pharmacies have the tools to access medicines and support patients during shortages.
Medicine supply should be included in the Government’s National Risk Register, with regular preparedness exercises focused on large-scale medicine and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) failure.
The report called for naming an individual with the appropriate seniority and authority to oversee resilience in the UK’s medicine supply chain, work across Government to prioritise this issue and ensure necessary data is shared.
The Government must boost the UK manufacture of generic medicines and ingredients used by the NHS.
It should work with the pharmaceutical industry to identify and prevent shortages, through boosting medicines manufacturing and supply chain resilience, both globally and once medicines have arrived on UK shores.
The Government should convey to the industry the importance of stable supply chains.
It should identify medicines critical for the UK and publish them in a Critical Medicines List and an API list based on clinical priority and supply chain vulnerability.
The committee chair, Baroness Morris of Yardley, said, “We tend to only think of medicines and medicine supply when we are ill and need access to medication via our GPs, hospitals or pharmacies.
"However, the issue is of great importance because of the risk to people’s health and wellbeing if medicine shortages occur."
She said the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is not proactive in tackling these issues, and it is not given the requisite attention.
"There is a general lack of oversight and leadership to address current shortcomings across the medicines supply and manufacturing process.
“We’ve set out several recommendations in our report which should help tackle the issues raised."
There is a need for better communication of any shortages to GPs, hospitals and pharmacies so they can take necessary action to support patients.
She called for a senior official to oversee the issue with cross-department coordination.
“The Government also needs to look more closely at how we can boost medicines manufacturing within the UK to reduce our reliance on single-source supplies or an over-reliance on China or India."
Stark warning: RPS
RPS president professor Claire Anderson said, “Today’s report is a stark warning about the continued impact of medicines supply issues on both patients and health professionals.
“Pharmacists and pharmacy teams are working hard every day to help patients access vital medicines, and this report highlights key measures to improve the UK's medicines supply chain resilience.
“We have seen some positive steps, including the consultation on enabling pharmacists to better manage medicines shortages, and the Government should not delay on implementing these changes.
“Medicines are a cornerstone of NHS care. We were pleased to give evidence to the inquiry and I welcome the Committee’s call for medicines security to be viewed as a national security issue.
“I urge the Government to act on the Committee’s recommendations.”
Shortages impact patients: CCA
Company Chemists’ Association head of policy Dr Nick Thayer said, “Community pharmacies buy and dispense over 1.15 billion NHS-prescribed items each year.
"Shortages directly impact patients and take pharmacy teams away from providing vital NHS care.
"The competitive buying of medicines by community pharmacy has successfully driven down prices for many years, saving taxpayers billions, but prices have now hit rock bottom.
"Around 80 percent of all NHS-prescribed medicines are generics and the price the government pays for these medicines, set out in the drug tariff, is too low. Unfortunately, this makes the UK a less attractive market to global manufacturers and suppliers, leading to less competition.
"We urgently need the government to invest in both community pharmacy funding and medicine pricing to make the UK more attractive, and the supply chain more resilient. I am pleased to see, following our chief executive providing evidence directly to the committee, that several of our recommendations have been included in the report.
"The CCA recently convened a Medicines Supply Resilience Group (MSRG) to bring together stakeholders from across the entire supply chain, to consider further ways to increase resilience. We look forward to working with the Department and NHS to co-design solutions which help ensure a consistent and reliable supply of medicines to patients”.
Decisive action needed: CPE
Community Pharmacy England (CPE), director of Research and Insights at Community Pharmacy England, Dr James Davies, who also gave evidence to the inquiry, said, “Today’s Lords Committee report is yet more clear evidence of the escalating medicines supply crisis.
"Shortages continue to impact patients and place huge pressure on community pharmacies, with our most recent data showing that one in four teams are spending more than two hours a day sourcing alternatives for their patients. We cannot let persistent shortages become business as usual.
"The Committee’s recommendations mirror what we have been calling for over many years: decisive Government action to stabilise the medicines market, address supply chain fragility, and prevent further supplier withdrawals driven by the UK’s low price environment.
"Like the Lords, we urge the Government to bring forward legislation for pharmacist flexibilities as soon as possible. Pharmacies are working harder than ever to ensure patients have access to the medicines they need while facing intense financial strain, and the situation is simply unacceptable.
"We welcome the Committee shining a spotlight on these issues and urge Government and the NHS to act now. We are seeking further discussions with DHSC and will continue pushing for the changes that patients and pharmacies urgently need.”
CPE is seeking further discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on pharmacy-related medicines supply concerns and has called for a full review of the medicines supply market.
It has also warned the Government and the NHS about the challenges pharmacies face while sourcing medicines, as well as the low margins they are allowed to earn amid an ever-growing volume of medicines.
This is adding to the already intense financial challenges that pharmacies are facing, CPE said.
