asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will make a statement which removes any threat of surcharge from those doctors who, on the basis of their own clinical judgment, prescribe gluten-free diets for people suffering from multiple sclerosis.
No. The Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances under the chairmanship of Professor Barbara Clayton considered the question of gluten-free products very thoroughly at a meeting on 25th July 1974 and was unable to recommend their use for this condition. The regulations providing for the recovery from a doctor of the cost of a substance he has prescribed which is considered not to be a drug have existed in one form or another since the early 1930s, and any amendment would require very careful consideration. The final decision in any particular case is made by other doctors, independent of the Department