British lawmakers have asked the National Audit Office to investigate the costs of the drug deal between the UK and the United States. This request follows the UK government's refusal to release details regarding the costs of this agreement.
Details of the drug deal
The agreement in question, signed last December, allows the UK to benefit from zero tariffs on American pharmaceutical products for three years. Under this agreement, the UK government has committed to doubling its spending on new drugs to 0.6 percent of GDP by 2035.
Lack of transparency in costs
Lawmakers stated in a letter to the National Audit Office that "there is significant public interest in understanding the implications of this agreement for public spending." They also requested that this body quickly assess whether the agreement provides economic value for taxpayers. The UK government has so far refrained from providing details about the costs of this agreement to the National Health Service, only estimating that it will cost around one billion pounds.
Sally Gainsbury, a senior policy analyst at the Nuffield Trust research institute, had previously been denied access to the government's impact assessment of this agreement. The Information Commissioner’s Office stated that the Department of Health and Social Care argued that releasing this information could "affect the development of current policies, international relations, and commercial interests."
Gainsbury has also approached the Information Tribunal on August 17 to review the government's decision not to release the assessment. This case is set to be reviewed between December and February.
Gainsbury stated that this trade agreement "will have a significant negative impact on the NHS's ability to improve population health, as it will shift resources from lower-cost care methods to more expensive and often less certain treatments."
She added: "The government has stated that this agreement is essential for supporting economic growth, but it is not prepared to disclose the details of its assessment in this regard. We should not have to go to court to achieve transparency on issues that have such significant impacts on our national health services, but we find ourselves in this situation. This request from six committee chairs truly reflects the strength of public interest in transparency, and we hope the government listens to it."
