This week in Parliament w/c 28th April & 5th May

Welcome back to the APPG on Pharmacy weekly Parliamentary update covering w/c 28th April and 5th May. A busy few weeks across the Pharmacy sector after the Easter recess, with announcements on hub and spoke dispensing as well as parliamentary reaction following the community pharmacy contractual framework funding settlements. Set out below is a summary of key parliamentary and policy developments in community pharmacy from the weeks gone.

Key announcements

Government announces the next steps for Hub and Spoke dispensing

The Government has put forward amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 in Parliament as the next step towards Hub and Spoke dispensing for community pharmacies.

The amendments include that only Model 1 is to be permitted, which includes patient – spoke – hub – spoke – patient. Key changes also mean that the hub-and-spoke pharmacy requires a formal written agreement outlining each party’s responsibilities in the dispensing process. The hub pharmacy assembles or part-assembles medicines, while the spoke pharmacy sells, supplies, or dispenses them to patients. Dispensed medicines must be labelled with the spoke’s details and the date of assembly. Patient data can be shared between the hub and spoke via an approved information gateway, provided confidentiality measures are in place and appropriate notices are displayed.

The HMR amendments are due to take effect on 1 October 2025, with hub-and-spoke dispensing expected to begin no earlier than 29 October 2025.

Key Parliamentary Activity

Oral Contributions

Topical Questions – Thursday 6th May 2025. Full transcript available here.

Catherine Atkinson (Labour): Questioned what action the government was taking to support community pharmacies financially, following the freezing of prescription charges.

Stephen Kinock (Labour): In response noted the financial uplift to £3.1 billion for 2025-26 and referenced recent legislation regarding hub and spoke dispensing.

Jim Shannon (DUP): Raised concerns about the viability of pharmacies in rural areas and to ensure access is maintained.

Stephen Kinock (Labour): In his response again referred to the 19% uplift to £3.1 billion and noted the pharmacy access scheme, providing £19 million to support pharmacies in areas where there are fewer.

Written Questions:

There were 32 written questions relating to Pharmacy answered in the House of Commons  and House of Lords over the past  two weeks. These can all be viewed on Hansard here.

Key questions include: