Tonge Presses Government on Pharmacy Deregulation

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 18th Jun 2003

Ed Davey MP, Vince Cable MP and Jenny Tonge MP outside the DTI.

On Wednesday 2nd April Jenny Tonge MP presented to the DTI the first round of petitions she had collected against OFT proposals for the deregulation of the pharmaceutical sector.

Since then she has collected over 2,000 signatures from concerned Constituents, and the number continues to rise.

The DTI, who had been expected to produce a response to the report by mid-April, is now expected to make a progress report in the next couple of weeks, and detailed proposals before the summer recess.

When asked about the deregulation proposals in a Tory Opposition day on Tuesday June 17th, Patricia Hewitt's responses were unconvincing at best.

Jenny Tonge MP, "It's about time the Government made up their mind. There is already considerable support amongst some members of this Government for deregulation, and I hope that Patricia Hewitt will not give in to the pressure for this."

"Not only will deregulation threaten the existence of some local pharmacies, but we could also see a cut back in vital services. This is based on a report on the OFT proposals by the largest community pharmacy operator in the UK which concluded that supermarkets will be reluctant to offer vital community services including diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure testing, methadone and needle exchange services, and emergency contraception. The Government needs to look towards the future and reject the OFT proposals".

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