Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has for increasing the availability of independent prescribers in community pharmacy settings; and if he will make a statement.

The General Pharmaceutical Council published new standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists in January 2021. The implementation of these standards will transform the education and training of pharmacists, so they are able to play a much greater role in providing clinical care to patients and the public. This will ensure that there is a supply of pharmacists qualified to independently prescribe.