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Community Pharmacies
02 June 2026
Lead MP
Rachel Gilmour
Responding Minister
Stephen Kinnock
Tags
NHSEmploymentBusiness & Trade
Word Count: 13159
Other Contributors: 23
At a Glance
Rachel Gilmour raised concerns about community pharmacies in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key Requests to Government:
The Government should commit to above-inflation funding increases year on year, deliver proper integration across the NHS, address the workforce crisis before it becomes irreversible, and provide support for initiatives like Pharmacy First service expansion.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
Opened the debate
The community pharmacy network faces significant challenges including a loss of over 1,000 pharmacies since 2016 and real-terms cuts of 30% in Government funding. An average pharmacy dispensing around 10,000 items a month will face a shortfall of approximately £56,000 after the funding settlement. The workforce has also suffered with 3,000 full-time equivalent pharmacists lost between 2021 and 2025.
Adam Dance
Con
Yeovil
Pharmacies in rural areas are expected to do more with little extra help, so alongside greater funding, we need to see the Government use the NHS workforce plan to expand the pharmacy workforce properly.
Alex Mayer
Lab
High Peak
Community pharmacies are crucial for NHS services, providing medication and advice. The Pharmacy First programme needs a name change to 'NHS+' to better reflect its role and increase public awareness of available services.
Amanda Hack
Lab
East Leicestershire and South Rutland
Inconsistency of integrated care board delivery can create problems for local communities trying to get medicines, so we need consistency of approach.
Andrew George
Lib Dem
St Ives
Community pharmacies in west Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly save around 2,500 GP appointments annually through Pharmacy First. However, financial pressures from medicines priced above tariff are unsustainable for independent pharmacies.
Bristol North West
As a fellow south-west MP, Claire welcomes the Minister's visit to Little Stoke in her constituency last week announcing £340 million more funding and suggests that the Minister share how these visits help him form his work.
Danny Chambers
Con
Winchester
Pharmacies in Danny Chambers' Winchester constituency are under immense pressure due to increased national insurance contributions, forcing some to limit opening hours. He highlighted the closure of Wessex Pharmacies on Saturdays and the delay in prescriptions caused by shorter operating times. The recent 10% increase in Government funding was insufficient compared to rising drug costs and overheads, leading to a drop in real terms funding since 2015. Chambers called for investment in rural pharmacies, expansion of Pharmacy First services, exemption from national insurance increases, and simplification of the NHS pharmacy contract.
Edward Morello
Con
Bridgwater and West Somerset
The closure of the Bridport and Lyme Regis pharmacies due to Jhoots exposed serious concerns around contractual failures, unsafe practices, staff treatment and service continuity. The Government should bring forward legislation to deal with such a scenario.
Gagan Mohindra
Lab
Hounslow Central
The hon. Member congratulates the hon. Member on securing the debate and expresses concern about the lack of certainty regarding contract negotiations for pharmacies.
Gideon Amos
LD
Taunton Deane
Gideon Amos discussed the challenges faced in Wellington where pharmacy closures led to long queues and inadequate service. He praised community efforts that successfully restored pharmacy provision but highlighted the need for essential services like pharmacies to be built into housing developments from the start, rather than being promised after the fact or reduced.
Gordon McKee
Con
Weaver Vale
An excellent example of community pharmacies in England embracing innovation is their interaction with the NHS app. My constituents in Scotland do not have access to a similar app because the Scottish Government have not got on with fixing it.
Gregory Campbell
DUP
East Londonderry
Paid tribute to Sadie Jefferson, a constituent who retired from community pharmacy work after 75 years at the age of 90.
Hannah Spencer
Con
Denton and Reddish
Pharmacies are dispensing medicines at a loss due to rising costs and NHS reimbursement not keeping pace with these, so independent pharmacies need to be fairly funded if they are to continue acting as the front door to the NHS.
James Naish
Con
North Norfolk
The independent prescribing programme in James's constituency has shown that only 5% of patients who use the pathway need GP referrals. Community Pharmacy England is not convinced that sufficient investment is being made, and it should be carefully looked at to ensure we are getting as much as possible out of community pharmacy.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Jim Shannon advocated for a UK-wide roll-out of the Pharmacy First service, citing the increasing demand on pharmacies and need for consistent healthcare access. He noted that community pharmacies in Northern Ireland dispensed more than 45.7 million items in 2024-25, a 0.7% increase over the previous year, indicating rising demand. Shannon also highlighted the 96% support among respondents to a 2024 survey for recommending the informal Pharmacy First service and called for discussions between the Minister and the Northern Ireland Assembly Minister to formalise the scheme in line with England's model. I very much welcome what the Minister has said. There is lots of good stuff being rolled out across the United Kingdom, but I asked him to share some of the things that have been done with the Northern Ireland Assembly Minister, Mike Nesbitt.
Joe Morris
Lab
Tynedale
Rural community pharmacies are essential for healthcare in areas with limited access to other medical services, and they face challenges such as geographical distance, digital access issues, and an aging population. Joe Morris highlighted the importance of not leaving rural areas behind when modernising the NHS through technology, stressing that local pharmacies play a critical role by reducing pressure on GP surgeries and helping patients receive care more quickly.
Julie Minns
SNP
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Pharmacies provide vital community health services but face issues such as staff abuse and closures. Between 2019 and 2024, 1,633 pharmacies closed while only about 400 opened. This has led to increased pressure on remaining pharmacies and longer wait times for prescription collections in communities like Carlisle.
Lee Pitcher
Con
Doncaster North
Mapping all community pharmacies and understanding where there are gaps would ensure provision for people living in those areas and could help with targeted interventions. Asked about standardisation in pharmacy services, noting that a resident with poor mental health cannot access nomad services from their local pharmacy and must travel far to another one where these are unpaid. Highlighted the importance of consistency in supporting pharmacies.
Luke Evans
Con
Cardiff South and Penarth
Expressed concern about the financial pressures and rising costs faced by community pharmacies, noting that many are losing money despite increased national living wage contributions and business rates. Emphasised the need for urgent work on a sustainable long-term solution including funding and reimbursement model reform. Highlighted issues with medicine supply chain instability and warned of potential risks associated with expanding independent prescribing without adequate investment. The Minister points to the important partnership between community pharmacies and dispensing GPs. There are concerns about the change in the EMIS module and the future for dispensing practices.
Wolverhampton North East
Community pharmacies were already in crisis after years of real-term funding cuts, especially in rural areas. The Government need to scrap unfair budgetary pressures on community pharmacies and commit to a sustainable financial footing for them.
Monica Harding
Lab
Delyn
Discussed the closure of Boots pharmacy in Thames Ditton and raised concerns about elderly residents facing long walks to reach other pharmacies, emphasizing the importance of local circumstances over macro figures. Discussed accessibility issues, stating that costs pushed on pharmacists make it difficult for them to open shops in smaller places and sustain operations, reducing accessibility for communities.
Sadik Al-Hassan
Lab
Wansbeck
Community pharmacy remains accessible, with around 80% of the population within a 20-minute walk. However, 1,383 pharmacies have closed since 2016. A funding settlement of £340 million is welcome but insufficient given cost increases and funding gaps. Pharmacy First must evolve beyond its current form to include broader roles in acute care and prevention. The vision for pharmacy by 2040 calls for genuine integration into neighbourhood healthcare, requiring a single patient record system. Intervened briefly, saying 'Only the good ones.'
Shockat Adam
Lab
Leicester South
He highlighted the challenges faced by community pharmacies, including a loss of 15% of the entire network since 2017 and a reduction in pharmacy opening hours. He noted that funding has been cut for eight years, leading to real-term cuts of 30%, and stressed that pharmacies cannot pass on costs to customers or manage demand like other businesses can.
Wolverhampton North East
Acknowledged the importance of community pharmacies in Wolverhampton and Willenhall, highlighted the decline in funding since 2016, noted the loss of nearly 1,500 pharmacies nationwide, and asked the Minister about long-term sustainable funding and addressing workforce shortages.
Government Response
Stephen Kinnock
Government Response
It is a pleasure to serve under the chairship of Christine Jardine and I congratulate Rachel Gilmour on raising this important issue. Since coming into office, the Government have continued to reverse decades of cuts to community pharmacy by freezing prescription charges for two consecutive years. This has enabled women to access free emergency contraception from their local pharmacies through the NHS. The Minister visited Concord pharmacy in Bristol, highlighting its role in delivering blood pressure checks, vaccinations, and Pharmacy First services. He noted that there are over 10,000 pharmacies in England, providing essential healthcare services to communities. Acknowledging challenges such as rural access issues, he mentioned the availability of dispensing doctors for medicines supply in areas without pharmacies. The Minister also addressed pharmacy closures in Tiverton and Minehead, noting two closures since 2017 and the presence of 14 pharmacies currently. He committed to providing more detail on these points via correspondence. Furthermore, the Government have provided a record 19% uplift in funding for community pharmacies across 2024-25 and 2025-26, with an additional £340 million investment announced recently to support medicine supply and vital services delivery, including pharmacist prescribing from autumn 2026. The Minister emphasized the importance of digital transformation and modernisation efforts in community pharmacies, such as the introduction of a new prescription tracker on the NHS app, enhanced links between pharmacies and general practice, and improvements in supply chain management through hub-and-spoke dispensing. He also highlighted the role of pharmacies in vaccine provision and prevention services like hypertension case-finding. The Minister mentioned plans to make digital access easier and improve real-time updates for GPs on national shortages. Additionally, he discussed initiatives such as the Pharmacy First campaign and independent prescribing pathfinder programme which show immense promise in relieving pressure on other parts of the healthcare system. He confirmed that the new community pharmacy contractual framework will focus on implementing learnings from these programmes to roll out NHS pharmacists prescribing nationally. The Minister also touched upon legislation enabling pharmacy technicians to manage dispensing processes, thereby saving time for patients and allowing pharmacists more clinical service opportunities.
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About Westminster Hall Debates
Westminster Hall debates are a chance for MPs to raise important issues affecting their constituents and get a response from a government minister. Unlike Prime Minister's Questions, these debates are more in-depth and collaborative. The MP who secured the debate speaks first, other MPs can contribute, and a minister responds with the government's position.