Request

You have previously published some information which I would like to use however the data was only provided up to July 2023 and I need more up-to-date figures.

Please could you repeat this information request for the months of August 2023 onwards up to the most up-to-date month available (Jan 2025)?

01398 is the reference number in question and I would like exactly the same information as provided in 01398, but for the individual months you have from August 2023 onwards

Response

June 2023 - January 2025

Under Section 21 of the FOIA we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you.

This information is already available in the public domain and can be accessed via the NHSBSA website https:

August 2023 to October 2023: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-01607

November 2023 - January 2024: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-01808

February - April 2024: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02015

May - July 2024: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02226

August – September 2024: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02425

October 2024: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02449

November – December 2024: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02623

January 2025:https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02688

Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21

February 2025

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested, and a copy has been published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02780

Due to the large size of the file we cannot email this to you.

Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data.

NHS Prescription Services process prescriptions for Pharmacy Contractors, Appliance Contractors, Dispensing Doctors and Personal Administration with information then used to make payments to pharmacists and appliance contractors in England for prescriptions dispensed in primary care settings (other arrangements are in place for making payments to Dispensing Doctors and Personal Administration).

This involves processing over 1 billion prescription items and payments totalling over £9 billion each year. The information gathered from this process is then used to provide information on costs and trends in prescribing in England and Wales to over 25,000 registered NHS and Department of Health and Social Care users.

Data Source

The data source was the NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse.

Exclusions

The Data excludes:

Items not dispensed, disallowed and those returned to the contractor for further clarification.

Prescriptions prescribed and dispensed in Prisons, Hospitals and Private prescriptions.

Items prescribed but not presented for dispensing or not submitted to NHS Prescription Services by the dispenser.

Time Period

February 2025 inclusive.

Prescribing

The data provided is for prescriptions dispensed and prescribed in England.

Prescribing has been split by Sub ICB Locations (SICBLs) and limited to prescribing within SICBLs.

Suppressions

Suppressions have been applied where items are lower than 5, for items and NIC and quantity for the following drugs and identified genders as per the sensitive drug list;

When the BNF Paragraph Code is 050102 (Cephalosporins and other beta-lactams)

When the BNF Paragraph Code is 050105 (Macrolides)

When the BNF Paragraph Code is 050112 (Quinolones)

When the BNF Paragraph Code is 050301 (HIV infection)

When the BNF Paragraph Code is 050303 (Viral hepatitis)

When the BNF Paragraph Code is 060401 (Female sex hormones and their modulators)

When the BNF Paragraph Code is 060501 (Hypothalamic & anterior pituitary hormone & antioestrogens)

When the BNF Paragraph Code is 060702 (Drugs affecting gonadotrophins)

When the BNF Paragraph Code is 130700 (Preparations for warts and calluses)

Publishing this response

Please note that this information will be published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02780

Your personal details will be removed from the published response.

Data Queries

Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.

Reusing the data and copyright

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “Data Warehouse NHSBSA Copyright 2025”. Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.