Thank you for your request for information about the following:

‘I am writing to make an open government request for all information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I would like the following data on Ozempic prescriptions in the UK, for the period between January 8, 2021 to the current date.

Please send me:

1. The number of Ozempic prescriptions that have been given out in the UK.

2. The reasons why these prescriptions have been given out.

I would also like the following data on Wegovy prescriptions in the UK, for the period between September 4, 2023 to the current date.

Please send me:

1. The number of Wegovy prescriptions that have been given out in the UK.

Please could you provide the information in the form of a spreadsheet (cvs or xlsx) if possible.

If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits (Section 12), it would be great if you could provide advice and assistance, (Section 16 obligations of the Act), as to how I can refine my request.’

Your request was received on 29 January 2024 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Summary of Response

Questions 1 & 3

Under Section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. The information you requested is available from the below web links.

For information on prescription items dispensed in the community in England which have been submitted to the NHSBSA for reimbursement.

Dataset: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) Annual statistics

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/prescription-cost-analysis-pca-annual-statistics

There is a Data Dictionary describing each column of data once you select a time period (at the bottom of the screen)

Dataset: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) Monthly Administrative Data

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/prescription-cost-analysis-pca-monthly-data

You can download BNF information from the Information Services Portal (ISP) to filter the above spreadsheets by the BNF code you are looking for.

https://applications.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/infosystems/welcome

This can be found under +Data, then Drug Data, then BNF Code Information.

For information on English prescribing data issued in England and dispensed in England, Wales, Scotland, Guernsey, Alderney, Jersey, and the Isle of Man.

Dataset: English Prescribing Dataset (EPD)

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/english-prescribing-data-epd

Question 2

I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by the NHS Business Services Authority.

This is because we do not hold the reasons why a prescription was provided or the medical condition a prescription was provided for.

Data Queries

If you have any queries regarding the data provided, or if you plan on publishing the data please contact foidata@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.