Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the availability of small (a) pharmacies and (b) GP surgeries in (i) Oxford, (ii) Oxfordshire and (iii) England; and if he will make a statement.

The Government is committed to ensuring access to National Health Service pharmaceutical and general practitioner (GP) services. In line with this commitment, NHS England is working with general practice stakeholders to develop primary care networks, which enable more multi-disciplinary working and provide more attractive career models for GPs and practice teams.

To ensure that all patients have access to NHS pharmaceutical services locally, the Government has introduced a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which provides additional funds to smaller pharmacies in areas where there are fewer pharmacies and higher health needs. There are more than 1,400 community pharmacies in England in the scheme. This includes seven pharmacies in Oxford West and Abingdon.