Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the levels of capacity and potential creation of efficiencies within the community pharmacy sector since 2019 in the context of the community pharmacy contractual framework (CPCF).

The capacity and potential for efficiencies within the community pharmacy sector are considered jointly by the Department, NHS England and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee during negotiations on the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF). The CPCF 2019/2024 five-year deal commits £2.592 billion each year to the sector. In September last year we agreed an additional £100 million for the remainder of the five-year deal.

The Department and NHS England continue to monitor patient access to pharmaceutical services closely and have been working closely with NHS England and Lloyds Pharmacy to assess the potential impact of the recent Lloyds announcement.