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Health minister Baroness Gillian Merron has said a proposed amendment to the Government’s Health Bill that would make specific funding provisions for rural pharmacies “would limit flexibility” to balance the needs of these communities against those of the country as a whole.

The amendment to the bill was proposed in a House of Lords debate yesterday (November 9) by Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Barbara Janke, who also tabled amendments that would give integrated care boards (ICBs) greater powers to intervene when pharmacy businesses fail to honour their NHS contracts and require the Government to protect the wages of pharmacy staff when the company they work for is placed in remedial measures.

Baroness Janke’s rural pharmacies amendment stated that pharmacy funding should reflect the “costs of providing services in rural and sparsely populated areas”.

She argued: “These are often areas of low income, where the health of the local population is poor and pharmacy services are much needed, but where private pharmacy businesses have difficulty in being able to thrive.

“So many pharmacies are increasingly unable to sustain themselves as private businesses and changes to the operation of pharmaceutical services overtake them.”

She called on the Government to “show a commitment to local pharmacies as essential providers of local healthcare and ensure that front-line services, which are very much in demand, are retained where and when they are particularly needed”. 

Baroness Merron replied that the rural funding amendment “would limit flexibility to balance rural access with wider patient and pharmacy needs,” adding: “The distribution of pharmacy funding is determined through an established national process.

“All pharmacies receive the same NHS service fees, while eligible isolated pharmacies receive additional pharmacy access scheme funding.”

Commenting on Baroness Janke’s other proposed amendments, the minister said Labour’s health bill already “strengthens arrangements to ensure continued access to pharmaceutical services and allows the secretary of state and ICBs to support new providers taking over pharmacy premises, including financially”.

She added: “We of course sympathise with staff affected by provider failure, but the reality is that, as we have discussed on a number of occasions, community pharmacies are independent businesses responsible for employing and paying staff.

“Existing employment and insolvency law already protects employees, as in other sectors. Therefore, a separate regime, as suggested, would not be appropriate.”

Related: Health secretary should intervene on staff wages when pharmacies go bust, say MPs