Engaging with politicians
Published on: 12th March 2019 | Updated on: 31st May 2023
At a national level, we carry out a range of activities to brief MPs and Peers on current issues within community pharmacy, particularly ahead of debates or opportunities for spoken interventions. We also work with the other national pharmacy organisations to coordinate our messaging wherever possible, including through co-sponsoring the All-Party Pharmacy Group (APPG).
This page is updated regularly with the latest publications from the APPG as well as resources for for our members to use for any local MP engagement.
We can also offer as-hoc support to our members who receive queries from MPs or have any questions about this work. Anyone requiring further advice is encouraged to contact our Communications and Public Affairs Team.
Resources for our members
Our members have been engaging with local MPs for many years now. As critical decision makers, it is important that we continue to showcase strong engagement and support from MPs from all parties. Below is a range of resources to help our members undertake local political activity.
We have published guidance to help with pharmacy visits or meetings with MPs. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of local MP engagement has been conducted via email and MP visits are reduced depending on national lockdown restrictions. However, the range of guidance documents we have provided below should help you with facilitating a socially-distanced pharmacy visit or hosting a virtual meeting with an MP via Zoom.
For all our recent MP information and briefings, please visit our page ‘Information for politicians’ here.
Pharmacy Pressures Animation (Summer 2022):
Pharmacy Pressures Animation related resources, including a downloadable version of the above and shorter clips for social media can be found here.
Following a pharmacy visit, MPs may offer to collaborate on a local press release. Those who are briefed virtually may also offer to publish a supportive statement or release for their websites or local media. A template for either of these is available below which LPCs can edit accordingly.
Press release for MPs- Flu Season (Autumn 2021)
Press Release for LPCs – Flu Season (Autumn 2021)
LPC template letter invitation to MPs (flu jab) (Autumn 2021)
We periodically issue template letters to our members to use to contact their MPs to help with various campaigns. If you want to write out to your MPs with specific asks – e.g a request to meet or invitation to visit a pharmacy – you can tailor the templates below to help your work. Those of you who have existing relationships with MPs may not need to use these.
Template letter to MPs – Autumn 2021 (Invitation for flu jab)
If you are unsure about which MPs you need to contact, you can refer to the following table which maps MPs in England by LPC area.
Alternatively, you can use Parliament’s Find Your MP tool to search for MPs by postcode if you are unsure about constituency boundaries.
Briefing for MPs: Community Pharmacy and the NHS Long Term Plan (2019)
This briefing outlines where the NHS Long Term Plan mentioned community pharmacy. LPCs can use this during MP visits to discuss the Plan’s pledges for the sector.
Community Pharmacy: The Long Term Future of the NHS (2018)
This briefing outlines where community pharmacy can contribute to the long-term future of the NHS. It was created in collaboration with the other national pharmacy organisations ahead of the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan.
Pharmacy APPG
All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The All-Party Pharmacy Group receives financial support from: The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, the Company Chemists Association, the National Pharmacy Association, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Secretariat functions are provided by Tendo Consulting.
Visit the APPG’s website to see more details about upcoming events and other group publications and if you have any queries, you can contact the secretariat for the group, via: contact@pharmacyappg.co.uk.
