Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to build resilience in community pharmacies.

Pharmacies are an integral part of our communities. They are an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly skilled healthcare professionals. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we want pharmacies to play a bigger role as we shift more care out of hospitals and into the community.

The community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.073 billion for 2025/26. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations, and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

The Pharmacy First clinical pathways have been informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of this service under review.

The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.