Pharmacy First: Withholding Payments
Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Zubir Ahmed(2 days, 13 hours ago)
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Dr Ahmed
As the hon. Gentleman will know—or should know—the current remuneration method was agreed in conjunction with the sector. The adjustment was agreed with the sector’s representative body, Community Pharmacy England. Advance notice of the change was provided to those contractors by letter and in an article published by the NHS Business Services Authority in May 2025. In addition, Community Pharmacy England knows that, should this be a priority issue for it to negotiate in the next contract, we will take that on board and use it as an option.
There are of course always extenuating circumstances, such as IT not working. Officials have reassured me that, following discussions with Community Pharmacy England, we have introduced specific provisions in the drug tariff that will allow pharmacy contractors to receive payment for claims that were delayed due to IT issues outside of its control.
I can appreciate why the hon. Gentleman wants to expand the remit of the urgent question across primary care—well, let me tell him. I know he had neck surgery recently; I did not realise they put a brass neck in him as well when they did it. He knows what kind of NHS decline and decay over which he and his Government presided over the past 15 years: primary care where people are left wandering around asking for GPs, and the Conservatives left GPs on the scrapheap, unemployed. This Government ensured, when they came into office, that—
Mr Speaker
Order. Minister, one of us is going to sit down, and it is not going to be me. Please can we have a little bit more calm? You have come in as the supporting Minister to the Secretary of State. I want you to set the example and not be the naughty one.
Mr Speaker
Order. We are going to learn the rules between us, Minister. Dr Luke Evans, I have granted you this urgent question. Quite rightly, I wanted your question to be heard by the Minister; I did not want any interruption. I expect you to listen to the answer without interruption.
Dr Ahmed
This Government take our responsibilities seriously in providing an effective 21st-century primary-care NHS, free at the point of care. That is why when we came into power we ensured that the pharmacy sector had the largest uplift of any part of the NHS in the past two years—£3.1 billion. To support primary care further, we ensured that GPs who could not find employment found it under this Labour Government. It is only this Government that can modernise the NHS, make it free at the point of care and ensure that it is a high-quality service going forward.
Dr Ahmed
As I have stated, we have given pharmacies a record £3.1 billion settlement. We absolutely endorse the need for pharmacies to do more in our communities. We are enabling pharmacists up and down the country to expand their repertoire, and we are ensuring that Pharmacy First remuneration is a dynamic process, month on month, that reflects the activity that each pharmacy is doing.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Zubir Ahmed(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Dr Ahmed
While the NHS in Scotland has no app and no plans for a national roll-out, the NHS in England has had an app since 2019, with 71 million logins in October 2025. Three in four people now have the app in their pockets and it has more subscribers in England than Netflix. You may ask, Mr Speaker, why NHS Scotland does not have an app? The answer comes in a freedom of information request by the champion journalist Simon Johnson: when asked about some of the drawbacks of applying the NHS England app in Scotland, they said:
“political optics of adopting an English solution”.
It is time for Analogue John to move over and let Anas Sarwar and Jackie Baillie finally drag the Scottish NHS into the 21st—
Mr Speaker
Order. We are on topical questions. The Prime Minister is in the Chamber. If you do not want Members to get in, please tell me; it would be easier.