National Audit Office to look into controversial deal with the Trump administration.

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LONDON — Britain’s public spending watchdog is probing the cost of Donald Trump’s drug pricing deal with the U.K., after six parliamentary committee chairs called for an investigation.

“I recognize that there is significant parliamentary interest in the arrangement, and I have therefore instructed my team to make preliminary enquiries about this matter,” the head of the National Audit Office (NAO), Gareth Davies, said in his response to lawmakers’ concerns.

The six committee chairs sent a letter to the NAO last month, urging the spending watchdog to investigate how much the U.K.-U.S. drug pricing deal will cost taxpayers and whether it offers value for money.

The deal saw the U.K. commit to doubling its spending on innovative medicines by 2035 from 0.3% to 0.6% of its GDP, in exchange for three years of tariff-free access to the U.S. market.

The government has said the deal will cost £1 billion over the current spending review period, with no additional funding to be announced in the budget this year. However, officials have refused to disclose the deal's full cost, arguing that doing so could harm international relations and commercial interests.

“Without a comprehensive impact assessment covering future years, parliament and the public are unable to fully understand the long-term implications of the agreement for NHS budgets and wider public expenditure,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter was signed by Health and Social Care Committee Chair Layla Moran; Science, Innovation and Technology Committee Chair Chi Onwurah; Business and Trade Committee Chair Liam Byrne; Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Chair Tonia Antoniazzi; Scottish Affairs Committee Chair Patricia Ferguson; and Welsh Affairs Committee Chair Ruth Jones.

“I understand that there has been limited parliamentary scrutiny of the arrangement itself, and the government has no plans to publish the details of how the costs and benefits have been modelled,” Davies wrote in response.

Davies said that he would follow up with the committee chairs, once the NAO completes its initial enquiries.

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