Written question WQ95284
- Asked by
- James EvansConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 21 days
Question
Will the Welsh Government consider directly reimbursing the community pharmacies in Wales that are impacted by the UK Government's decision to decrease national insurance tax thresholds in the recent UK Government budget?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The setting of National Insurance rates and thresholds is the responsibility of the UK Government and the Chancellor of the Exchequer; it is not a devolved matter.
The Welsh Government is providing record levels of investment in community pharmacy. An additional £9.9m (6%) has been made available for the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) in 2024-25 which will take total CPCF funding to £175m a year, representing a 24% increase in funding since 2016-17.
We have also made more than £0.5m in capital funding available to pharmacies this year to support investment in automation, new private consultation areas, and reducing community pharmacy’s carbon footprint.
This investment will be used to address both the immediate pressures facing community pharmacies and to maintain momentum on our longer-term ambitions for reform, which are set out in Presgripsiwn Newydd - A New Prescription (gov.wales).