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NHS Pharmaceutical Services Regulations 1992

My right honourable friend the Minister of State (Jane Kennedy) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. In August 2003, the department consulted on a package of proposals to reform the regulatory system governing National Health Service community pharmacy services. It also put forward possible options for further reform which, if pursued, would require primary legislation. When announcing the programme to implement the reforms in autumn 2004, Ministers said they would consider introducing new primary legislation:"to enable reasonable charges, but not full cost recovery, to be introduced for applications concerning a chemist's inclusion on a NHS primary care trust list; and""to allow NHS primary care trusts to take into account, when assessing applications, the improvements they would bring to the provision of, or access to, over-the-counter medicines and other healthcare products." Ministers committed to consult further on such legislation. This consultation started on 25 July 2005 and ended on 20 September 2005. These proposals are included in the Health Bill published on 27 October 2005. In relation to the second proposal, this will apply only where a primary care trust is assessing competing applications together. A paper summarising the 29 responses received has been published today. Copies have been placed in the Library.