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Pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock has said the Department of Health and Social Care is “progressing to the next phase” in examining the use of “oversight mechanisms and enforcement powers” to address “poor performance” by pharmacy business owners. 

This work “will address whether we need to amend primary and/or secondary legislation” and consider “what prevents regulators and NHS contract managers from taking more expedient action,” said Mr Kinnock in a February 12 letter to Labour MP Sadik Al-Hassan. 

He added: “Any changes to secondary legislation will be subject to public consultation or consultation with Community Pharmacy England, as appropriate.”

The Government first announced plans to toughen up the regulations for pharmacy owners in November as it sought to tackle the fallout of the collapse of Jhoots Pharmacy.

Mr Kinnock said in last week’s letter that he has asked the General Pharmaceutical Council “to assess any gaps it has in its powers to inform regulatory options” and is working with the GPhC, NHS England and integrated care boards to “expedite the transfer” of former Jhoots branches to their new owners, Allied Pharmacies. 

“The GPhC is also working with the new owners to ensure compliance with the standards we expect of pharmacies and pharmacy professionals,” he added. 

In papers published this week ahead of its February 19 council meeting, the GPhC confirmed it met with the pharmacy minister on January 20, commenting: “The meeting focused on the gaps in relation to the regulation of pharmacy businesses highlighted by the Jhoots Pharmacy collapse, and ongoing work to identify the regulatory gaps.

“The next steps following the approval of new legislation on pharmacy supervision and progress on independent prescribing were also discussed.”

The regulator also revealed that issues at Jhoots had contributed to a drop in pharmacy inspection activity in the third quarter of 2025-26, commenting: “The slight decrease in inspections reflects engagement arising from external factors, including the closure of several Jhoots pharmacies and concerns relating to pharmacies providing weight management services. 

“More than 60 attempted inspections of Jhoots premises could not be completed due to premises being closed or the absence of a Responsible Pharmacist, in these cases we made NHS England aware.”