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 the effect of the reduction in Category M prices and the single activity fee on the financial sustainability of community pharmacies.

The overall funding for the community pharmacy contractual framework (CPCF) has not been reduced since 2017/18 and remains at £2.592 billion for 2018/19. The Department ensures delivery of this amount by adjusting the fees paid for services and the reimbursement paid for products throughout the year. Where there is over or under payment we make appropriate adjustment to either fees or product reimbursement (typically those in Category M) to address the difference. The impact assessment for the current CPCF funding is at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-pharmacy-reforms

The current recovery of excess medicine margin at £10 million per month, as agreed by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, ceases at the end of March 2019.