To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase access to pharmacies in North Shropshire.

The Government recognises that pharmacies, including in North Shropshire are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.

Local authorities are required to undertake a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years to assess whether their population is adequately served by local pharmacies and must keep these assessments under review. The Shropshire PNA was published in September and is available to view on the council’s website.

Commissioning primary care services, including pharmaceutical services, is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications from the new contractors. Contractors can also apply to open a new pharmacy to offer benefits to patients that were not foreseen by the PNA. If there is a need for a new local pharmacy to open and no contractors apply to open a pharmacy and fill the gap, ICBs can commission a new pharmacy to open outside of the market entry processes and fund the contract from the ICBs’ budgets. In some rural areas where a pharmacy may not be viable, local general practices are permitted to dispense medicines to their patients. In addition, patients can choose to access medicines through any of the distance selling pharmacies that are required to deliver the medicines they dispense free of charge and also provide other pharmaceutical services remotely.