Oral Answers to Questions

Kevin Barron Excerpts

Wednesday 1st March 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for mentioning that issue, which he has raised with me previously. I know he is concerned about it and working on it. Our housing White Paper clearly sets out that developers should be building homes for people to live in. That means that we will act to promote fairness for the growing number of leaseholders, but we will consult on a range of measures to tackle unfair and unreasonable abuses of leasehold, as the Housing Minister has said. Other than in certain exceptional circumstances, I do not see why new homes should not be built and sold with the freehold interest at the point of sale.

[Sir Kevin Barron (Rother Valley) (Lab)]

Q12. May I add my condolences to the family of Gerald Kaufman, who was one of my friends in this place?I received an email yesterday from a local pharmacist who, since the Government announcement in October last year, has had to implement cost-cutting measures, including to staff and services. This week he received a notification of the payment for prescriptions dispensed in December last year, and has had a reduction of nearly £9,000, which represents an 18.8% cut—well beyond the 4% that the Under-Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Warrington South (David Mowat)—the pharmacies Minister—spoke about in October. Will the Government commit to revisit community pharmacy funding as a matter of urgency?

[The Prime Minister]

We all recognise the important service that pharmacies provide, which is why spending on them has actually risen in recent years. There has been an increase of more than 18% in the number of pharmacies over the past decade. The system needs to reform so that NHS resources are spent efficiently and effectively. Let us look at some of the figures: two fifths of pharmacies are within 10 minutes’ walk of two or more other pharmacies; the average pharmacy receives roughly £220,000 a year in NHS funding; and most pharmacies receive the £25,000 establishment payment, regardless of size or quality. We looked at this concern when it was raised last summer, and made changes to ensure that greater support was available to pharmacies in particular areas.