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Medicines availability should be treated as a national security issue and ministers must take a more proactive, coordinated approach to tackling shortages, according to a House of Lords Public Services Committee report.
In the report, published on 4 February 2026, the committee warned that the UK government and NHS often react to supply problems after they have already happened, while there is “little oversight or leadership from the Department of Health and Social Care,” leaving patients at risk.
The report follows the government’s 2025 strategy to improve supply chain resilience but goes further by treating medicines supply as a national security risk.
The government’s strategy — entitled ‘Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines’ and published in August 2025 — outlined plans to improve transparency, identify disruption earlier, strengthen communication and work more closely with supply chain partners.
However, it did not propose adding medicines to the National Risk Register, appointing a single senior lead responsible for resilience, or creating a formal list of critical medicines to guide domestic production and stockpiling — all measures which are now recommended by the committee’s new report.
The report urged that medicines supply risks should be added to the National Risk Register, with “regular preparedness exercises focused on large-scale medicine and active pharmaceutical ingredient failure”.
It also called for a named senior individual with authority across government to oversee medicines supply chain resilience and ensure better data sharing.
In addition, the report highlighted the UK’s reliance on fragile global supply chains. Most APIs used in NHS medicines are controlled by China, India or other single sources, while around 80% of prescribed medicines are generics and only one-quarter are manufactured in the UK, it noted.
To reduce vulnerability, the report recommended boosting domestic manufacturing of generic medicines and ingredients used by the NHS via “resilience-focused procurement and contract management,” as well as working with the pharmaceutical industry to “identify and prevent shortages” earlier.
A critical medicines list and API list to identify clinically essential and vulnerable supply chain products should be published, to inform UK production, stockpiling and contract negotiations, the report proposed.
Commenting on the report, Claire Anderson, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: “[The 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 UK medicines supply chain resilience. We have seen some positive steps, including the consultation on enabling pharmacists to better manage medicines shortages.
“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,” she added.
“I urge the government to act on the committee’s recommendations.”
Commenting on the report, community pharmacy leaders said long-term pricing pressures were also undermining supply resilience.
Nick Thayer, head of policy at the Company Chemists’ Association, 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.
“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.”
Baroness Morris of Yardley, who chaired the inquiry, said the government must improve communication with GPs, hospitals and pharmacies, strengthen oversight and increase UK manufacturing to reduce reliance on overseas or single source suppliers.
