Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in workforce levels in the community pharmacy sector.

Health Education England (HEE) conducted a community pharmacy workforce survey between May and June 2021. This indicated a 5% reduction in headcount compared with the last workforce survey in 2017, except for pharmacists and trained dispensing assistants which increased by 18% and 15% respectively. These estimates are based on responses from 47% of community pharmacies. HEE expects to repeat this data collection annually to inform future workforce planning and investment decisions.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is responsible for maintaining a register of all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Great Britain. As of 31 January 2022, there were 85,742 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians on the GPhC’s register. The register shows an increase in both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians year on year.