Government is committed to making ‘better use of the skills of pharmacy teams’ and to ‘build on pharmacies presence at the heart of communities’, Stephen Kinnock minister of state for care, has told pharmacy contractors.

But in a recorded message to delegates attending the Sigma conference at Heathrow on Sunday, Mr Kinnock said that he was concerned about pharmacy closures and that finding solutions would not be ‘easy’.

‘This government is committed to shifting care from hospital to community, from analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention, and I know that community pharmacy will play a vital role in that,’ he said. Finding a ‘sustainable funding solution’ is a matter of urgency, he said.

‘I really look forward to working with pharmacy stakeholders, not just on how we can solve the problems faced by the sector but also how we seize its opportunities.

‘This isn’t going to be easy. I’m only too aware of the pressures faced by the sector and it concerns me that so many of our community pharmacies have exited the market over the past decade.

‘I know we need to find a sustainable funding solution that matches our ambitions to reform and expand the services offered by community pharmacies. And we are looking at this as a matter of urgency.

‘We must get our fantastic primary care sector back on its feet to be able to deliver for our patients,’ he said.

Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said that CPE had ‘productive’ conversations with Stephen Kinnock in recent weeks, and that she has hopes for negotiations to be continued as soon as possible.

Negotiations with the previous government that started in March and were halted at the election made ‘reasonable progress’, she said.

Matt Turmaine MP for Watford, attending the conference at Heathrow, told delegates that the new government was ‘determined to deliver for community pharmacy in this country’ and ‘is taking matters around community pharmacy seriously’.

He encouraged pharmacists to work with MPs where possible and to speak to them about community pharmacy. ‘If you have issues and concerns that you want to ensure we are hearing, please do raise them,’ he said.

Dr Bharat Shah, joint Sigma founder, added that Sigma was hosting a session at the House of Commons later this month focusing on ways to encourage healthcare professionals to work together in the NHS and operate less as silos.