Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the Pharmacy Access Scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Services under the community pharmacy contractual framework, including the Pharmacy Access Scheme (PhAS), are commissioned and funded by the National Health Service, rather than local authorities. The projected costs for the PhAS in 2016/17 and 2017/18, for December 2016 and then in each quarter up to March 2018, are given below:
| December 2016 | January 2017 - March 2017 | April 2017 - June 2017 | July 2017 - September 2017 | October 2017 - December 2017 | January 2018 - March 2018 |
PhAS (£) | 3,960,069 | 11,880,206 | 5,812,669 | 5,812,669 | 5,812,669 | 5,812,669 |
PhAS reviews* (£) | 123,529 | 370,587 | 240,809 | 240,809 | 240,809 | 240,809 |
Total (£) | 4,083,598 | 12,250,793 | 6,053,478 | 6,053,478 | 6,053,478 | 6,053,478 |
*These figures showing the cost of additional pharmacies being granted the PhAS through the review process are subject to update. They do not include pharmacies operating under local pharmaceutical services contracts, which return to the pharmaceutical list and are eligible for the scheme.
The community pharmacy funding package, implemented from 1 December 2016, is delivering significant savings - £113 million in 2016/17 and a further £208 million in 2017/18 – and making an important contribution to the £22 billion NHS efficiency savings. The PhAS is a key element of that funding package to support access where pharmacies are sparsely spread and patients depend on them most.