Pressure grows on ministers to end secrecy over UK medicines deal with Trump | NHS

Ministers are under growing pressure to end the “secrecy” surrounding the UK-US deal on drug costs, which critics say is “Trump sidelining the NHS”.

Labor MPs and several opposition parties want the government to publish its assessment of the impact of the agreement reached last month with Donald Trump’s administration.

Under the deal, the UK will pay more for new drugs and let the NHS spend more on life-prolonging drugs in return for UK pharmaceutical exports to the US avoiding tariffs.

The deal has sparked concern among health experts because it could cost the UK government and the NHS billions more per year to meet these commitments by the end of the deal in 2035.

A cross-party group of Labor, Lib Dem, Green and SNP MPs are meeting on Wednesday evening to discuss how to force Wes Streeting, the health secretary, and Peter Kyle, the business and trade secretary, to publish the government’s assessment of how the deal could affect the UK. It was organized by former Labor shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

McDonnell said: “There are real concerns that the US-UK deal will lead to a significant rise in medicine costs, which in turn will result in a withdrawal of resources from investment in NHS services.

“The government has a responsibility to publish a full assessment of the impact of the deal on the NHS budget and services.”

He wants ministers to commission a separate, “open and transparent, independent” impact assessment of the deal, to ensure full details of the potential implications are made public.

The cross-party group of MPs will also discuss the need for a debate and vote in the House of Commons on the deal and call on the Commons health, science and business select committees to undertake an investigation into how the deal was reached and its potential consequences.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall insisted the deal would only cost an extra £1 billion between 2025/26 and 2028/29. They admitted costs would increase after 2028/29, but gave no estimates on this.

However, ministers refused to give figures on the costs involved beyond 2028/29 or which department will foot the bill. They did not provide these details when responding to parliamentary questions from Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs or in correspondence with the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.

As part of the deal, the government has committed to doubling the UK’s spending on new medicines, from 0.3% of GDP to 0.6% by 2035, leading to continued increases in spending between now and then.

Last week, in its response to a Freedom of Information request from campaign group Global Justice Now, DHSC refused to provide information on long-term costs or provide copies of correspondence it had had with Kyle and Kendall’s departments. The information sought was exempt under freedom of information legislation, it said.

Tim Bierley, head of policy and campaigns at Global Justice Now, which submitted the FoI request, said: “The government is refusing to give the public or MPs any useful information about the true costs of this deal, despite being forced to admit that the financial burden will increase with each passing year. With all this secrecy, you have to ask: what on earth do ministers have to hide?”

This “historic” deal will ensure British patients have access to medicines, boost pharmaceutical investment in Britain and keep exports of British medicines to the United States duty-free, ministers point out.

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, sharply criticized ministers’ refusal to divulge key information about the deal, which he last month called “Trump’s restructuring of the NHS”.

“This is an act of capitulation by Keir Starmer, who refuses to stand up to the most corrupt US president in history. His weakness means NHS spending is set by a foreign regime and not the British people,” Davey said. “This is an insult to patients suffering in crowded hospital corridors, who are told time and time again that there is no money for the improvements they need.

“The government isn’t even telling us what the impact will be on health care or our economy. This is clearly a desperate ploy to appease Trump.”

A DHSC spokesperson said: “The agreement is fundamentally about putting patients first. For patients and families facing serious illness, this represents new hope and the possibility of treatments that could transform and save lives.”

“Total costs over the spending review period are expected to be around £1 billion. In the longer term, costs will clearly depend on which drugs Nice decides to approve and their uptake. This deal will be funded by allocations made during the spending review, where frontline services will remain protected thanks to the record funding secured.

“This is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our NHS and the world-leading life sciences sector to increase access to life-saving medicines without removing essential funding from our frontline NHS services. »