Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many pharmacies are now clustered.

We know that 40% of pharmacies are in clusters of three or more meaning that two-fifths of pharmacies are within 10 minutes’ walk of two or more other pharmacies.

But we also know that in many places there are far more than this. For example, on Loughborough Road in Leicester there are 12 pharmacies, all within 10 minutes’ walk of each other. Similarly on Clodeshall Road in Birmingham, there are 11 pharmacies within 10 minutes’ walk. There are many more examples of clusters of pharmacies throughout England, with one cluster in London of 18 pharmacies within 10 minutes of each other. The median average pharmacy currently receives £220,000 per year in National Health Service funding. This includes a fixed payment of £25,000 per year for almost all pharmacies, regardless of their size or quality. This represents an inefficient allocation of NHS funds.