Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to support pharmacies in Newbury constituency with the increased cost of employers National Insurance contributions.

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at Autumn Budget 2024, which enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26. The employer national insurance rise will be implemented April 2025, with the Department setting out further details on allocation of funding for this year in due course.