On 28th June 2022, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Pharmacy Order 2022, at the approval stage. A vote was held on an amendment to the order, in which a Bishop took part.
Division 1:
The Bishop of Guildford took part in a vote on an amendment brought by Lord Hunt of King’s Heath (Lab), as part of the motion to approve the draft order:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: “at the end insert “but that this House regrets that the Order does not make provision about the wider workforce challenges facing the community pharmacy sector”.
My Lords, I certainly have no objection to this statutory instrument, which, as the Minister said, requires a strengthening of the governance that relates to superintendent and responsible pharmacists. My complaint is that this could have been so much more. My principal purpose in tabling my amendment and allowing us to debate this is to talk about the potential of community pharmacy and my frustration that the Government are doing so little to support the sector. I find that quite extraordinary.
As the Minister said, the NHS is going through an incredibly tough time. We have a huge backlog of patients waiting for treatment, workforce pressures, scary ambulance waiting times, and there is a real sense of demoralisation in primary care. You would think that the Government would have welcomed with open arms the contribution that community pharmacy can make. Instead, however, it seems that the sector continues to be undervalued and starved of investment.“
The amendment passed. Content: 193 / Not Content 119.
The Bishop of Guildford voted Content.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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