9. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the drug tariff in Wales? OQ61212

The drug tariff is published monthly by the Department of Health and Social Care and covers both England and Wales. It specifies remuneration to pharmacies for NHS prescription medicines and services. The reimbursement values are reviewed and updated regularly.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that response. As she has explained, this drug tariff is an England-and-Wales tariff, but, from my understanding, it is set according to the average sales from pharmaceutical companies representing the sector. But, none of these companies are based in Wales; they're large companies in England. So, it doesn't reflect usage or sales in Wales, and the result of that is that pharmacies in Wales are losing out. What discussions have you had, therefore, with the UK authority in order to have a tariff that reflects Wales, or even to devolve this to Wales?

So, prices charged by suppliers and wholesalers for medicines are unlikely to differ between England and Wales, so Welsh pharmacies are not disadvantaged. Pharmacies in Wales make around £55 million each year from retained purchase profits. So, whilst sometimes they may lose out on purchasing specific products, overall there are more occasions when they don't. And I think it probably is worth emphasising that, between 2017 and 2025, funding has increased by £21 million, from £144 million to £165 million. If you look at the funding per pharmacy, it's significantly more in Wales than it is in England: £317,000 on average, compared to £240,000 on average.

Julie Morgan isn't in the Chamber to ask question 10 [OQ61186]. So, finally, question 11, Luke Fletcher.