Lords examines Medicines and Medical Devices Bill
27 October 2020
The Medicines and Medical Devices Bill continues its committee stage, the first chance for line-by-line scrutiny, in the Lords on Wednesday 28 October.
Members are expected to consider a range of topics including the creation of an innovative medicines fund, disclosure of information and veterinary medicines.
- Watch on Parliament TV from 2.30pm
- Read the Lords Hansard transcript three hours after the debate
- List of suggested changes (PDF)
- Bills and legislation: Medicines and Medical Devices Bill
- Explore the Lords Library briefing
- What is committee stage?
The committee stage of this bill is taking place in Grand Committee, away from the chamber. In Grand Committee, any member can take part and decisions on amendments (changes) can be made, but no votes can take place.
Committe stage day two: Monday 26 October
Members discussed a range of topics including patient safety, the environmental and social impact of medicines and patient access.
Committee stage day one: Monday 19 October
Members discussed a range of topics, including prioritising patient safety, government powers to amend existing laws on medical devices and protection from controls outside the UK in the event of a trade deal.
Second reading: Wednesday 2 September
Lord Bethell (Conservative), Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Department of Health and Social Care, opened the debate.
Speakers included the president of the British Medical Association Board of Science and the chair of the Independent Medicines and Medical Safety Review.
Medicines and Medical Devices Bill
The objectives of this bill are to:
- introduce targeted delegated powers in the fields of human medicines, veterinary medicines and medical devices and enable the existing regulatory frameworks to be updated following the UK's departure from the EU
- provide a delegated power to establish one or more information systems in relation to medical devices, consolidate the enforcement provisions for medical devices and introduce sanctions
- provide an information gateway to enable the sharing of information held by the Secretary of State about medical devices, including to warn members of the public about safety concerns.
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