B

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 17 June 2025

Debate

Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Hub and Spoke Dispensing etc.) Regulations 2025

Contribution

I will pick up on this because it is a concern. In her summing-up speech, the Minister spoke about the business interests of the hub and the spoke. A concern is whether you could have a hub, which will be a large, possibly even multi- national, provider that could create a monopoly. As has been recognised during this debate, in rural areas, in particular, dispensing doctors are often a small group. Pharmacy services have a relatively low turnover but are important to such communities that are a long way from other places and where the services provided by the pharmacist are particularly important. Yet, as a small spoke, they may not have the power to negotiate with a strong central hub that may well be driven by shareholders and profit. There is a little bit of me that would really like this to somehow be a not-for-profit arrangement over the whole of it, but I realise that that is not feasible.

More from Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)

Other recent Hansard contributions by the same speaker.

About Hansard

Hansard is the official verbatim record of proceedings in the UK Parliament. Every word spoken in the Commons and Lords is recorded and published — this page is a single contribution from that record.