Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the letter of 17 December 2015 from the Director General, Innovation, Growth and Technology, and the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer supporting NHS England, to the Chief Executive of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, in which parts of the country there are more pharmacies than are necessary to maintain good access.

The Government believes efficiencies can be made within community pharmacy without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Following recent growth in the number of community pharmacies, 40% of pharmacies are now in clusters of three or more. In fact, two-fifths of pharmacies are within 10 minutes’ walk of at least two other pharmacies. As part of the community pharmacy reforms, we are introducing a Pharmacy Access Scheme to support access where pharmacies are sparsely spread and patients depend on them most. We will have a review process to deal with any unforeseen circumstances affecting access; like a road closure. We will also review cases where there may be a high level of deprivation and pharmacies are 0.8 of a mile or more from another pharmacy, if that pharmacy is critical for access.