FOI-03689

Thank you for your request for information about the following: 

__Request__

<p><i>‘I am requesting the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000:</i></p>

<p><i>The total number of Metformin (all formulations, BNF section 6.1.2) prescription items dispensed per quarter at community pharmacies with a dispensing postcode of UB1 or UB2, from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2025.</i></p>

<p><i>If available, please break this down by individual pharmacy (identified by ODS code or pharmacy name and address) rather than as a postcode aggregate.</i></p>

<p><i>I would be grateful to receive this information in Excel or CSV format.</i></p>

<p><i>If individual pharmacy-level data cannot be released, please confirm whether the aggregate quarterly total for UB1 and UB2 combined can be provided.’</i></p>

[On 27 March 2026 you clarified your request as follows] 

<p><i>‘My primary interest is Metformin hydrochloride (BNF chemical substance 0601022B0), including all branded formulations of that single chemical substance.</i></p>
 
<p><i>However, if it can be included within the cost limit, I would also welcome data for the combination products within BNF paragraph 060102 that contain Metformin — specifically:</i></p>
 
<p><i>• Metformin hydrochloride/rosiglitazone</i></p>
<p><i>• Metformin hydrochloride/pioglitazone</i></p>
<p><i>• Metformin hydrochloride/vildagliptin</i></p>
<p><i>• Metformin hydrochloride/sitagliptin</i></p>
<p><i>• Linagliptin/Metformin</i></p>
<p><i>• Saxagliptin/Metformin</i></p>
<p><i>• Alogliptin/Metformin</i></p>
<p><i>• Dapagliflozin/Metformin</i></p>
<p><i>• Canagliflozin/Metformin</i></p>
<p><i>• Empagliflozin/Metformin</i></p>
 
<p><i>If including the combination products would exceed the cost limit or cause delay, please prioritise Metformin hydrochloride (0601022B0) alone — that will meet my needs.’</i></p>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 19 March 2026, with clarification received on 27 March 2026.  

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 

__Our response__

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information is attached. 

Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data. 

__NHSBSA__

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: ePACT2__

Data in ePACT2 is sourced from the NHSBSA Data Warehouse and is derived from products prescribed on prescriptions and dispensed in the Community. The data captured from prescription processing is used to calculate reimbursement and remuneration. It includes items prescribed in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey, and Isle of Man which have been dispensed in the community in England. English prescribing that has been dispensed in Wales, Scotland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey, and Isle of Man is also included. 

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__

Quarterly data, January 2019 to December 2025. 

__Data__

Please note that the data is limited to prescription items dispensed belonging to the following BNF chemical substances: 

0601023AJ Alogliptin/metformin, 0601023AP Canagliflozin/metformin, 0601023AL Dapagliflozin/metformin, 0601023AR Empagliflozin/metformin, 0601023AF Linagliptin/metformin, 0601022B0 Metformin hydrochloride, 0601023W0 Metformin hydrochloride/pioglitazone, 0601023AD Metformin hydrochloride/sitagliptin, 0601023Z0 Metformin hydrochloride/vildagliptin and 0601023AH Saxagliptin/metformin 

__Organisational Data__

The data is limited to pharmacies within the post code areas of UB1 and UB2 and shows the pharmacy name, address and the full post code. 

An annotation against a pharmacy of ( C 02-Apr-26 ) means that that pharmacy will be closed as of that future date. 

__BNF Code__

The BNF Code is a 15-digit code in which the first seven digits are allocated according to the categories in the BNF, and the last 8 digits represent the medicinal product, form, strength and the link to the generic equivalent product. NHS Prescription Services has created pseudo BNF chapters, which are not published, for items not included in BNF chapters 1 to 15. Most of these items are dressings and appliances which NHS Prescription Services has classified into four pseudo BNF chapters (20 to 23). 

__Items__

Shows the number of times a product appears on a prescription form not the quantity prescribed. 

__Data Queries__

Please contact <a href=mailto:foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a> 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 <a href=mailto:communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>. 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: “NHSBSA Copyright 2026”. 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.

Tags: Metformin, Metformin hydrochloride, NHS Presciption Services
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log