Urgent questionThursday, 11 June 2026

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care if he will make a statement on the potential impact of VAT on the availability of medicines through compassionate use schemes

Urgent matter raised by an MP

An urgent question from Conservative MP Dr Caroline Johnson asks the Health Secretary to clarify how a planned VAT increase will affect medicines available through compassionate use schemes—programmes that provide experimental or unlicensed drugs to terminally ill patients who have exhausted standard treatment options. The question probes whether VAT will be charged on these drugs, potentially raising their cost and restricting access to patients who may have no other medical recourse.

Compassionate use schemes serve patients facing life-threatening conditions with no approved treatments available. A VAT charge could price desperate patients out of potentially life-extending or life-saving medicines, raising ethical and equity concerns. The question signals Conservative concern that the government's fiscal position may be overriding patient access to experimental therapies.

Urgent questions draw responses from across the House — any MP may participate, so we don't show a predicted interest list.

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