Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the financial sustainability of pharmacies.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has a duty to ensure access, in England, to National Health Service pharmaceutical services. These are commissioned from community pharmacies who are private businesses. £2.592 billion a year was committed to the sector in the five-year deal from 2019/20 to 2023/24 for the NHS pharmaceutical services they provide, a total of nearly £13 billion. To maintain access in areas where there are fewer pharmacies or higher health needs, additional payments, from within that funding, are made under the Pharmacy Access Scheme to eligible pharmacies.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, £350 million in extra advance payments have been made to address cash flow, and support pharmacies in maintaining medicine supplies and providing health advice. Additional payments above the £2.592 billion for 2020/21 have been made to support additional opening hours on Bank Holidays and for a medicine delivery service to shielded patients. We continue to work with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee to assess any additional COVID-19 related costs that it may be necessary to cover.