Sections relating to the control of the cost of health service medicines
The Secretary of State currently primarily controls the cost of most branded health service medicines by way of a voluntary scheme agreed with industry. The current voluntary scheme is the 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS). Companies that are members of the scheme make payments to ensure that spending on branded health service medicines stays at the agreed level.
	The powers under the NHS Act 2006 allow the Secretary of State, after consultation with the appropriate industry body1, to make a statutory scheme for the purpose of limiting the prices of, or profits accruing from, the sales of health service medicines by companies that choose not to be members of the voluntary scheme.
	Currently, manufacturers or suppliers of health service medicines can choose (primarily based on the nature of their business) to be controlled either by the voluntary scheme or the statutory scheme.