FOI Ref: 0124FOI1920 

22^nd October 2019 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Request for Information 

We are pleased to respond to your request for information and our response is set out below: 

Request/ Response 

Your press office has confirmed that prescribing costs in Sheffield have been affected by shortages of medicines, but has asked me to send a freedom of information request for more information.

- Please provide any analysis and information held by the CCG on factors affecting/likely to affect primary care prescribing costs in the current financial year.

The CCG is aware of increase in prices for Category M drugs from August 2019, the impact for Sheffield CCG is £1.2m in 2019/20. 

- Please provide any analysis or information on the impact of drug shortages on prescribing costs in primary care in the current financial year.

Impact of price concessions can be found on Open prescribing here:  

https://openprescribing.net/ 

- Please provide details of the primary care prescribing budget for Sheffield CCG in 2019/20, and current forecast performance against that budget. Please provide details of the primary care prescribing budget for Sheffield CCG in 2018/19 and performance against that.

Please see table below: 

	Budget	Forecast	Variance
	£000s	£000s	£000s
2018/19	£94,097	£90,074	-£4,023
2019/20	£91,913	£95,715	£3,802

- Please provide any other information held by the CCG pertinent to the question: How are medicines shortages affecting prescribing costs in primary care in Sheffield CCG?

Shortages have affected costs, not just here but nationally too.