The Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency has launched a nationwide consultation on proposals that would allow schools to purchase and hold spare adrenaline nasal sprays for use in allergy emergencies, alongside or instead of existing adrenaline auto-injectors.
The consultation, led by the MHRA and the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, aims to improve access to life-saving treatment for children and young people at risk of anaphylaxis.
Food allergies affect around 8% of children and young people across the UK, with some at risk of anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction that requires urgent administration of adrenaline. Around one in five serious food allergy reactions occur in schools, underlining the importance of rapid access to emergency treatment.
Currently, schools are permitted to hold spare adrenaline auto-injectors for emergencies. The new proposals would extend those arrangements to include adrenaline nasal sprays, giving schools greater flexibility in how they prepare for and respond to severe allergic reactions.
Under the proposed changes, schools would be able to choose whether to stock adrenaline auto-injectors, adrenaline nasal sprays, or both. Existing safeguards would remain unchanged, meaning emergency adrenaline could only be administered to children who are known to be at risk of anaphylaxis and only by appropriately trained staff.
The consultation is also seeking feedback on the practical implementation of the proposals and whether future legislation should adopt broader terminology for self-administered adrenaline products. This would help ensure that new authorised adrenaline treatments could be incorporated into legislation more quickly without requiring further amendments.
James Frith, Minister for Health, said:
“Parents of children with serious allergies should be able to send them to school knowing the right help is there in an emergency.
“Giving schools another way to respond quickly to a severe allergic reaction could be life-saving, and I’d encourage families, schools and others to have their say in shaping these proposals.”
The MHRA said the proposals are intended to ensure medicines legislation keeps pace with advances in healthcare while maintaining robust safety measures around emergency treatment in educational settings.
Julian Beach, MHRA Executive Director, Operations, said:
“Ensuring children and young people with allergies have access to medicines in an emergency situation is vital.
“Adrenaline nasal sprays would provide an additional treatment option for children at risk of anaphylaxis – a serious and life-threatening condition.
“Through this consultation we want to understand if schools should be able to buy and hold these products alongside or in place of the adrenaline auto-injectors they can already stock.
“Our proposal is designed to ensure that medicines legislation keeps up with developments in healthcare while ensuring safeguards that support the safe use of emergency adrenaline in schools remain in place.
“We encourage everyone to share their views, including teachers, healthcare professionals, parents carers and those at risk of anaphylaxis.”
The MHRA has emphasised that the proposed changes would not require schools to purchase any specific product or brand. Nor would they replace the expectation that children at risk of severe allergic reactions carry their own prescribed adrenaline medication.
Instead, any adrenaline held by schools would continue to serve as a back-up supply for emergency situations where immediate treatment is required.
The eight-week consultation is open to schools, education staff, healthcare professionals, parents, carers and members of the public with an interest in improving access to emergency treatment for anaphylaxis.
The announcement comes shortly after new allergy-safety requirements for schools in England came into force in September 2026 under the first phase of Benedict’s Law.
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