I am pleased that the National Audit Office has opened an investigation into the value for money of this pharmaceutical trade deal with America. The lack of parliamentary scrutiny of this deal has been worrying, with the UK Government seemingly determined to leave parliamentarians and the public out of the loop on the details and costs. Now, I believe the investigation by the NAO was promoted by a letter from no less than six Chairs of Common’s Select Committees highlighting the public interest in understanding implications of the deal on public spending.
As a reminder, in December 2025, the Labour Government signed a deal with the US Government whereby the US agreed not to impose tariffs on UK pharma and medical technology exports for the following three years, while the UK committed to increasing overall spending on medicines and support for the life sciences industry.
However, as the SNP’s Spokesperson for Health and Social Care at Westminster, I have been a vocal critic of the UK Government for the lack of parliamentary scrutiny of this deal afforded in the House, and their refusal to publish the impact assessment. I have been in regular written correspondence with the Labour Government on this matter as well as questions in the Chamber.
Independent economic analysis has revealed the negative effects to NHS frontline services and potential excess deaths of this deal, with the BMJ putting the cost at nearly £45 billion by 2036. Meanwhile, the knock-on effect on the devolved government in Scotland is even more egregious given Holyrood was not consulted on the details at the time the deal was agreed. Economists at the University of York estimate additional costs of between £180m and £340m in 2028 and between £660m and £780m in 2032 to Scotland, with net additional excess deaths of between 1,150 and 2,100 in 2028 and between 3,200 and 4,900 in 2032.
Finally, it’s worth pointing out, given this fast paced and evolving global political environment, and the President’s changing power dynamic at the White House post mid-term elections, now is an even more important time to scrutinise the value of this deal. Afterall, the UK remains the outlier in Europe in terms of such an arrangement with the States. Questions on benefits remain and can only be answered with full transparency.
