Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made with Community Pharmacy England on the new pharmacy contract.

Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024. This service uses Patient Group Directions to enable pharmacists to supply certain prescription-only medication, where appropriate, based on specific eligibility criteria, and in line with best practice. Patients should be referred to a prescriber, such as a general practitioner, for treatment, if they meet one of the exclusion criteria.

Any pharmacist prescribing services will build on Pharmacy First and will be delivered by pharmacists that have undertaken additional training to become independent prescribers. This will enable them to provide support and prescribe medication for a wider range of conditions and cohorts of patients. NHS England is working with all integrated care boards to pilot how prescribing can work in community pharmacy.

The consultation with Community Pharmacy England on the national funding and contractual framework arrangements for 2024/25 was not concluded by the previous government, and we are looking at this as a matter of urgency.

Drug Tariff payments are reviewed regularly with adjustments made on a regular basis to reimbursement prices for medicines and appliances, and fees, when appropriate.