To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to invest in front-line primary healthcare to support rural pharmacies. (S6O-04180)

The Government continues to support community pharmacies, including rural pharmacies, by delivering the largest-ever increase to funding for two years in a row. That has delivered a total of £422 million in guaranteed funding for community pharmacies across Scotland in this financial year.

In addition, there is a guaranteed minimum target income for essential small pharmacies, most of which are rural, and a pharmaceutical needs weighting payment, which acknowledges both demographics and the deprivation that is associated with a patient’s postcode. Those measures help to support rural pharmacies by ensuring that they are not disadvantaged because of their location.

Many operators in my constituency say that their reserves have been wiped out because the medicine tariffs that are paid by NHS Scotland have failed to keep pace with the rapidly increasing costs of medicine, resulting in pharmacists having to, in effect, subsidise national health service medicines out of their own pocket.

Community pharmacies provide a vital service, with increasing demand in remote and rural areas. They are hugely valued public services that are operated by private contractors, and they have been underfunded consistently in recent years. Many face an accumulative £20,000 to £30,000 a year increase in operating costs as the new minimum wage and national insurance rates kick in, with no internal mechanism to absorb the increases.

In the light of those funding pressures, will the minister set out what support the Scottish Government will provide to community pharmacies? Will the Scottish Government consider the option of the NHS exemption for national insurance contributions being applied to NHS contractors?

Before I respond to Finlay Carson’s question, I thank community pharmacies across Scotland for the work that they do in their communities all year round but especially at this time of year. They are an integral part of supporting people through the winter from a preventative care perspective and by providing a wide range of pharmaceutical services.

I meet Community Pharmacy Scotland regularly, and the issue of payments is always on the agenda. I have undertaken to write to NHS National Services Scotland with regard to Community Pharmacy Scotland’s frustrations about receiving payments. However, as I pointed out in my original answer, over the past two years, the funding settlement from the Scottish Government for community pharmacies has been very good.

I recognise that addressing issues in rural primary care is a key priority for the Scottish Government. Will the minister outline how primary care services such as pharmacies will be supported through the upcoming Scottish budget? Will she join me in encouraging colleagues from all parties to support the budget to enable plans to come to fruition?

I agree whole-heartedly with Jackie Dunbar’s final point. It is important to point out that the Scottish Government is investing record amounts in primary care and is on track to deliver our commitment to increasing primary care funding by 25 per cent. Our 2025-26 budget includes more than £2.2 billion of investment in primary care services, and plans for reform across the sector will take into account service needs in rural and island communities. We remain committed to investing in the national centre for remote and rural health and care.

As I indicated to Finlay Carson, our on-going negotiations with Community Pharmacy Scotland will ensure that the needs of rural community pharmacies are taken into consideration in future settlements.