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 his Department's funding for community pharmacies in Rother Valley is used to support the community's healthcare needs.

Community pharmacies in Rother Valley and across the country, provide a vital service to the patients in the areas they serve. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework five-year deal, agreed in 2019 with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, commits £2.592 billion annually to the sector, with nearly £13 billion committed over five years.

Further, during the COVID-19 pandemic, £370 million has been made in advance payments to support pharmacies in maintaining medicine supplies and providing health advice. For June to September we have increased reimbursement prices of the most commonly prescribed generic medicines by £15 million. Additional payments have been made to support opening hours on Bank Holidays and for a medicine delivery service to shielded patients.