Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the average costs to the public purse of dispensing a prescription item from an internet pharmacy are lower than such costs of dispensing a prescription item from a High Street pharmacy.

Under the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework, payment for National Health Service pharmaceutical services does not distinguish between providers; i.e. online pharmacies and ‘bricks and mortar’ pharmacies are paid the same level of fees for services. There are fees which are paid to pharmacy contractors per dispensed item, but there is also a payment which depends on the total monthly volume of prescription items.