Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which pharmacies in England reported that they were closed for (1) all, or (2) part, of their contracted opening hours on dates between 1 January to 31 October; and what steps they have taken to safeguard patient access to pharmacy services during any closure periods.

This information is not held centrally. In March 2020, the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013 were amended to allow the flexible provision of pharmaceutical services during the pandemic in circumstances beyond the control of a community pharmacy. If a pharmacy cannot open due to unavailability of a responsible pharmacist or enough staff to open safely, they must immediately inform the NHS regional team or, if a pharmacy needs to temporarily reduce its opening hours, a 24 hours notification is required. This provision is in place until 31 January 2022. The information related to these notifications is held locally by NHS England and NHS Improvement regional teams. All community pharmacies should have a business continuity plan in place in case of emergencies to minimise disruption to the provision of NHS pharmaceutical services.