Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rate of closure of pharmacies; and what steps they are taking to help pharmacies to remain financially viable.

Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system, and the Government recognises the integral role they play within our communities, as 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 has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.

There has been a reduction in the number of pharmacies since 2017, as there are over 1,300 fewer than in 2017, and over 550 fewer than two years ago. However, access to pharmacies in England remains good. Over 80% of the population lives within one mile of a pharmacy. In some rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines to their patients. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the over 400 NHS online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver prescription medicines free of charge to patients.