The Prime Minister has said the government is ‘exploring ways’ to support community pharmacies after he was questioned about many being ‘forced into bankruptcy’.

Speaking during engagements in the House of Commons on 8 March, Rishi Sunak praised the work of community pharmacies which he said ‘are fantastic at delivering primary care on the frontline’.

He was responding to a question from Labour MP for Birmingham, Steve McCabe, who said: ‘I have heard the Prime Minister talk fondly of helping out in his mum’s community pharmacy. How would he feel if 600 pharmacies close this year because of a vicious NHS contract that takes no account of rising costs and is forcing many into bankruptcy?’

Mr Sunak responded: ‘As I have said previously, the government are exploring ways in which we can support them to do even more, because improving access to pharmacies is something that people would welcome, and it would help people to get the care they need faster and more efficiently.

‘We will continue to look at all the proposals we have received.’

The Prime Minister has spoken in the past about helping at his mother’s community pharmacy in Hampshire.

His mother, Usha Sunak, owned Sunak Pharmacy in Southampton between 1995 and 2014 and Mr Sunak spoke to The Telegraph before becoming Prime Minister about working for the small business doing the payroll and accounts.