Member

If the assumption is that hubs will be the large pharmacists, then page 22 of the impact assessment very clearly points out that the Government are not clear what sort of fee structure might emerge—for example, an annual fee or a fee per item. That is important, because if the hub also has pharmacies as part of its spoke and other pharmacies as part of its non-hub—namely, independent pharmacies—then we must ask: will the fee structure be the same or could there be a differential fee structure that gives competitive advantage to the smaller spoke that is part of the larger hub chain? That is an important point to tease out, so I hope the Minister can clarify that point.