1.  This Government has emphasised the crucial role of community pharmacies in delivering improvements in the NHS, a view which we support. The role of community pharmacies is not limited to dispensing prescriptions, but extends into providing NHS patients with free advice on medication and self-treatment, and can make a significant contribution to easing pressure on other NHS services. A policy which could lead to the closure of significant numbers of community pharmacies, or to less equitable distribution of community pharmacies dictated by commercial markets rather than the needs of patients, would therefore go against the best interests of the NHS. The issue of whether deregulation will result in significant closures of pharmacies, and in particular, pharmacies in rural or deprived areas is therefore crucial, and much of the evidence we have received indicates a strong likelihood of such closures. (Paragraph 19)

2.  If deregulation were to lead to some communities being left without access to local pharmacy services, the social impact among elderly and less privileged groups could be grave. This outcome would clearly run counter to other government initiatives expressly intended to redress the health inequalities between different groups in society. (Paragraph 25)

3.  Irrespective of issues concerning deregulation, the Government must ensure that local PCTs have sufficient levers at their disposal to oblige pharmacies to provide services such as emergency contraception and these essential extra services for the elderly, disabled, substance abusers and mentally ill wherever they are needed. (Paragraph 27)

4.  We recommend that the dispensing doctors scheme is retained only where a pharmacy is unviable, even with the support of the Essential Small Pharmacy Scheme. Dispensing doctors should not be seen as a solution to problems arising from potential deregulation of entry into the market. (Paragraph 34)

5.  In some circumstances, increased competition may facilitate innovation and improvements in terms of the quality of service. However, it is difficult directly to transpose principles of competition onto the health care sector, which functions very differently from other sectors of industry, and we would only support competition within the pharmacy sector if it was clearly compatible with a planned provision of pharmacy services that ensured provision in deprived areas. (Paragraph 37)

6.  We are not convinced that deregulation of retail pharmacy in the UK would lead to savings, either to the public purse, or to business. Indeed, there is some indication that (indirect) costs resulting from deregulation might in fact outweigh any savings made. We recommend that the Government develops a more robust set of models of potential costs and savings before relying on an economic argument to determine the fate of regulation of entry into the pharmacy market. (Paragraph 45)