Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to help prevent the closure of local independent pharmacies.

The Department is closely monitoring changes to the pharmacy network to ensure access to services the services they provide on behalf of the National Health Service. Access to pharmaceutical services remains good with 80 percent of people in England living within 20 minutes walking distance of a pharmacy and twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas of the country.

Most closures in recent years have resulted from large companies optimising their portfolio. As a result of this divestment activity the number of independent pharmacies is increasing.