Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how NHS England and Integrated Care Boards monitor compliance with the Accessible Information Standard in (1) community pharmacies, and (2) hospital pharmacies, in particular with regard to provision of easy-read, pictorial, or simplified medication labels for patients with learning disabilities; and what data NHS England collects on the number of pharmacies in each sector routinely providing these adjustments.

The requested data is not centrally held. However, the Government is clear that pharmacies play a crucial role in ensuring NHS-funded services are accessible to all, and as part of that, pharmacy teams are expected to take reasonable steps to meet patients’ communication and information needs, including by providing information in formats they can understand and offering appropriate support to aid their understanding.

In addition, all organisations providing publicly funded National Health Service care, including community and hospital pharmacy services, are responsible for implementing the Accessible Information Standard. NHS England and commissioners, including integrated care boards, must have regard to the standard, and may consider providers' compliance with the standard as part of their oversight of commissioned services.