Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding levels for community pharmacies.

The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities. They provide an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion, in agreement with Community Pharmacy England. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS at the time, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. Any future funding arrangements will be subject to Spending Review allocations to the Department and, as customary, consultation with Community Pharmacy England.