Baroness Merron (Lab)

It is important to keep all matters under review—and I would want more than that—because we need to see how things are going. Certainly, the monitoring will continue. However, I would counsel a bit of caution: increases may not be directly related. As the noble Baroness well knows, it is always a complex situation, but certainly monitoring will continue. We will want to see how these reforms are working. On training, I say to the noble Lord, Lord Scriven, that initial education training is assured by the regulator. Post-qualification training is a responsibility of NHS England. No pharmacy technician should be acting outside of their competency, and pharmacists have the responsibility that I outlined of ensuring that they are delegating tasks appropriately. On accuracy errors, which the noble Lord, Lord Scriven, raised, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians remain professionally accountable for their actions. There is no change to that. On the question from the noble Lord, Lord Scriven, about a patient having a question about their medication, the pharmacy technician, or the other professional handing out the medication, will be trained to refer this back to the pharmacist. So, again, that assurance can be given. I make reference to pharmacy funding because the noble Lord, Lord Scriven, raised it. We have been quite clear that funding community pharmacy is a priority. The new community pharmacy contractual framework, which has been secured by this Government, is the first step in rebuilding community pharmacy as part of our plan for change. There is a £3.1 billion deal; it is the largest uplift in the funding of any part of the National Health Service, which shows, I believe, our commitment to supporting community pharmacy and building a service that is fit for the future.