Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework remains fit for purpose, given that it was negotiated before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) 2019-24 five-year deal commits £2.592 billion per year to the sector and outlines a joint vision for how community pharmacy will be more integrated into the National Health Service, deliver more clinical services and become the first port of call for minor illnesses. The Government continues to support this ambition.

Each year of the CPCF is negotiated separately between the Department, NHS England, and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee. In September last year, following a joint review of the CPCF, we announced the agreement for the remainder of the five-year deal, which included a further one-off investment in the sector of £100 million.