The Prime Minister has said that the government is committed to achieving a “thriving community pharmacy service” that helps wider health services deliver “better patient choice and easier access, and claimed that a reform package that includes significant cuts to funding has been aimed at bringing this about.

In a letter to support the 2017 Sigma Retail Pharmacy Conference, Prime Minister May recognised the “contribution [the sector] makes to the UK economy and to the lives of many thousands of patients and customers”.

She said that the recent package of reforms is “designed to ensure we have a modern and efficient community pharmacy sector, properly integrated into primary care and public health, offering better patient choice and easier access”.