Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support local pharmacies.

The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal commits £2.592 billion each year to the sector. In September 2022, we announced an additional one-off £100 million investment across this and last financial year. In May 2023, as part of the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we announced a further investment of up to £645 million over two years to expand the services offered by community pharmacies.

In addition to providing funding, we are working with the sector to implement regulatory changes that reduce pressure on pharmacies without compromising the quality and safety of services.