Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what role he is planning for community pharmacies in delivering the Government’s levelling up commitments.

The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019/24 sets out the role of community pharmacy in improving public health and prevention. All community pharmacies are now Healthy Living Pharmacies, providing healthy living advice and health promotion locally.

While we have had no specific discussions, community pharmacies are approximately two to three times more common in areas of deprivation. National prevention services, such as blood pressure checks, smoking cessation services following hospital discharge, treatment and advice for minor illnesses and medication support have been commissioned from community pharmacy in the last three years to improve health outcomes. Community pharmacies can be commissioned locally to deliver a range of health and prevention services, such as COVID-19 vaccinations.