Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to (a) support and (b) expand the clinical role of community pharmacies.

We have concluded the most recent consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26 with the community pharmacy sector. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26, and will support community pharmacies in providing clinical services.

As part of this deal, we have increased the fees for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, the Pharmacy Contraception Service, Pharmacy First Clinical Pathways and Minor Illness, and the New Medicine Service, to support contractors offering these services. We will also expand the Pharmacy Contraception Service and the New Medicine Service.

The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, including by making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists. NHS England is currently testing how prescribing in community pharmacy could work to inform the commissioning of prescribing from community pharmacies in future.