Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2025 to Question 35591 on Pharmacy: Finance, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of pharmacies using Pharmacy First.

As of November 2024, 9,308 contractors were delivering at least one Pharmacy First clinical pathway consultation with good coverage across the country, equivalent almost 90% of active pharmacies.

We have recently announced the funding arrangements for 2025/26, which will see increased fees for this service as well as a new fixed fee of £500 for pharmacies delivering between 20 and 29 consultations per month as well as the existing fixed fee of £1,000 for 30 consultations and over.

NHS England is keeping the Pharmacy First service under close review. In addition, a National Institute for Health and Care Research evaluation of Pharmacy First will assess how the service has been implemented across England, including impacts on prescribing in the general practice setting, use of hospitals and how the service has impacted access to care and cost for different patient groups.