Taxpayers will have to foot the bill for stockpiling NHS medicines to prepare for crashing out of the EU without a deal, the health secretary has said.

Matt Hancock revealed he was “talking to the pharmaceutical industry about what extra costs the government should cover” for the task of building up supplies.

He also said he was planning to “switch supply from land to air” for short-life medicines – although that would appear to depend on a scrambled aviation agreement with the EU.

However, Mr Hancock insisted there was no cause for alarm, saying: “I am confident that, if everybody does what they need to do, then we can have an unhindered flow of medicines, even in the event of no-deal Brexit.”

The response from drug companies – who have been asked to do the stockpiling – had been “very good”, he added.

Last month, the UK BioIndustry Association, warned that request, to ensure an additional six weeks’ supply, was “a massive challenge” for the industry.

Under the plans, hospitals, GPs and community pharmacies do not need to stockpile medicines and nor will doctors write longer prescriptions. Patients have also been advised that they do not need to store additional medicines at home.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Hancock was asked if the government would pay the bill for extra costs, such as “refrigeration”.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that “Brexit means Brexit” and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UK’s economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Party’s coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a “specific solution” would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

“We won’t pay for the drugs themselves, because they will be sold on into the NHS, so we are not going to pay for them twice,” he replied.

“But we are talking to the pharmaceutical industry about the extra cost that they might have to incur in that eventuality. Of course, I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Mr Hancock insisted the talks were “going positively in terms of getting the deal that we want”, despite the EU rejecting the heart of Theresa May’s Chequers plan.

But Tom Brake, a Liberal Democrat supporter of the People’s Vote campaign, seized on the admission, saying: “Ministers have gone from promising ‘sunlit uplands’ to admitting that taxpayers may have to foot the bill for stockpiling vital medical supplies.

“This dystopian vision of Brexit Britain is not what anyone voted for in 2016. People wanted a stronger NHS, not a health service on its knees, at risk of running out of medicine, equipment and staff.”

Last month, Steve Bates, the head of the BioIndustry Association, pledged to be “prepared for a scenario industry really does not want”, but added: “We should be under no illusions that this will be easy.”

The plan to fly in supplies of short-life medicines will be threatened if there is a no-deal Brexit unless a specific aviation deal can be struck.

Falling back on World Trade Organisation rules will not grant the UK air traffic control rights if it leaves the EU without an overall agreement, the government has been warned.