§ Mr. Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon)I wish to present a petition on behalf of 2,253 residents of Huntingdon, St. Neot's, Brampton, Kimbolton, Alconbury, Ellington, Spaldwick and Stoneley.
The petition declares
That the deregulation of pharmacies, as set out in the recent Office of Fair Trading report, would threaten access for patients to adequate pharmacy services in their community and be detrimental to community pharmacy businesses everywhere.The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons rejects proposals that would allow the unrestricted opening of pharmacies able to dispense NHS prescriptions, to preserve local pharmacies and safeguard their continued services to local communities.And the Petitioners remain, etc.To lie upon the Table.
§ Mr. Michael Weir (Angus)This, too, is a petition about pharmacies; it is from the villages of Friockheim and Letham in my constituency.
The petition states:
To the House of CommonsThe Petition of the Constituents of Central AngusDeclares that they oppose the recommendation made in the Office of Fair Trading Report—The Control of Entry Regulations and Retail Pharmacy Services in the UK—to end pharmacy control of entry regulations and allow all supermarkets to open a pharmacy within their stores.The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons does not accept the recommendations in the OFT report —The Control of Entry Regulations and Retail Pharmacy Services in the UK.And the Petitioners remain etc.To lie upon the Table.
§ 6 pm
§ Mr. Jim Cunningham (Coventry, South)This petition, which has 3,399 signatures, was given to me and to my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, North-East (Mr. Ainsworth) by several local pharmacies in Coventry. They are concerned that they will go out of business because supermarkets will under-price them, and if so, people who are having treatment for drug abuse will no longer be able to get that treatment locally, although they cannot say why.
The petition states:
To the House of Commons,The Petition of the residents of Coventry,Declares that local Communities are best served by local community-based pharmacies, and that the OFT's recommendations to abolish the "control of entry" regulation would seriously damage local pharmacies.The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to reject proposals that allow unrestricted opening of pharmacies able to dispense NHS prescriptions, and to preserve local pharmacies and safeguard their continuing provision of services to local communities.And the Petitioners remain, etc.To lie upon the Table.
§ 6.1 pm
§ Mr. Richard Spring (West Suffolk)The petition states:
To the House of CommonsThe petition of 701 residents of Brandon, Suffolk, and othersDeclares that the government should reject proposals from the Office of Fair Trading that would remove restrictions on entry to the community pharmacy market in order to preserve the local pharmacies and safeguard their continued service to local communities.The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to reject the Office of Fair Trading proposals.And the Petitioners remain, etc.To lie upon the Table.