§ Mr. Richard Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many National Health Service dispensing chemists were closed down during 1979 and 1980 in (a) England, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) Greater Manchester; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. VaughanThe information for 1979 and the first nine months of 1980 is given in the table below; also shown is the number of NHS dispensing pharmacies which opened in the same periods.
1979 First 9 months 1980 Closures Openings Closures Openings England 172 134 104 91 West Yorkshire 12 4 9 3 Greater Manchester 9 4 10 1 For 10 of the 12 pharmacies closed in West Yorkshire in 1979 and all nine of those closed in the first nine months of 1980 there was another pharmacy within half a mile; and for eight of the nine pharmacies closed in Greater Manchester in 1979 and nine of the 10 closed in the first nine months of 1980 there was another pharmacy within that distance. The corresponding figures for England were 152 out of 172 and 95 out of 104.