Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Community Pharmacy NI about funding for pharmacies in Northern Ireland.

This Government has had no discussions with Community Pharmacy NI about funding for pharmacies in Northern Ireland.

The former Minister of State for Northern Ireland met a member of the Community Pharmacy NI board in December 2021 as part of a wider visit to businesses in Northern Ireland.

The Government is acutely aware of the broader pressures facing health and social care services in Northern Ireland. A programme of reform at the devolved level is needed to tackle long-standing and systemic problems. Consecutive Executive Ministers have failed adequately to address this issue.

In the absence of an Executive, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has introduced a Bill that clarifies the powers for Northern Ireland Departments to maintain delivery of public services. These powers are, however, limited. The Secretary of State has also set a Budget for this financial year. This Budget for Health provides £7.28bn in funding which is an increase of £228m above 2021/22 spending which included significant COVID-19 funding, or £786m if we compare to last year’s funding excluding the one-off COVID-19 funding. This will protect spending to address the critical health pressures in Northern Ireland.

The Government’s immediate priority remains facilitating the restoration of a fully functioning Executive that can progress long-term solutions to transform healthcare in Northern Ireland. That is the best way to progress the necessary long-term solutions to healthcare.