Pharmacy bodies have slammed Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s decision to leave community pharmacies out of the business rates support offered to other businesses on the high street.
In an announcement made earlier today, Burnham said he will “back the businesses that people want to see in their communities” by reducing business rates by 20% for “cherished” establishments such as pubs, clubs and live music venues.
But pharmacy bodies have hit back at community pharmacy’s exclusion from the support.
“Absurd”
Independent Pharmacies Association chief executive Leyla Hannbeck said the move “does nothing for pharmacies, which once again have been left behind”.
“It remains absurd that community pharmacies are expected to pay full business rates, while other parts of the NHS, such as GP surgeries and dental practices, receive relief for the NHS services they provide,” she added.
Read more: Pharmacy bodies react to new PM and ministerial changes
Hannbeck warned that if pharmacies “continue to close at the current rate, patients will lose vital access to healthcare on their doorstep, and voters will rightly hold ministers to account”.
She also said in a letter to Burnham that if his government is “serious about revitalising” the country’s high streets, “this is an injustice that must be put right”.
“Unfair disparity”
Meanwhile, National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chief executive Henry Gregg said pharmacies “will be dismayed that they continue to be hit by the full force of this fast-rising tax”.
“Pharmacies are central to NHS care in their communities, yet don’t have any of the concessions on rates enjoyed by GPs or other parts of the health service,” he added.
Read more: ‘Cannot go on’: Three-quarters of English pharmacies losing money
Gregg urged Burnham to “direct some of his reforming zeal to stopping pharmacies from closing due to tax rises”.
He stressed that the government “only funds just over half of the estimated cost of NHS pharmacy services, leaving pharmacies to pick up the bill on top of these imposed costs”.
And Community Pharmacy England chief executive Janet Morrison called for the government to “end this unfair disparity” and ensure that pharmacies either have their costs fully covered or are “given the same rates relief as other healthcare providers”.
Read more: The reality of rising costs, and the need for clarity on funding
It comes after data from the NHS’s Business Services Authority revealed that 7.9% of brick-and-mortar pharmacies have closed in the last five years.
And it follows repeated calls by the NPA for pharmacies to be included in business rates relief, after the sector warned that changes announced in last year’s budget could lead to closures and layoffs.
