Request

I am seeking some business data

your link (https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/pharmacy-openings-and-closures) tells me how many pharmacies are run by groups of 6-99 pharmacies.

But I need to know how many of these pharmacies are operated by groups of 6-9 pharmacies (9 is the maximum size of an independent at CPE).

Please could you tell me how many pharmacies (not companies) fall within the size 6 to 9.

Response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested.

There are 538 pharmacies, across England, including two distance selling pharmacies as of May 2025, with between six and nine pharmacies in the chain.

Please read the notes to ensure your correct understanding of the data.

NHS Prescription Services process prescriptions for pharmacy contractors, appliance contractors, dispensing doctors and personal administration with information then used to make payments to pharmacists and appliance contractors in England for prescriptions dispensed in primary care settings (other arrangements are in place for making payments to dispensing doctors and personal administration). This involves processing over 1 billion prescription items and payments totalling over £9 billion each year. The information gathered from this process is then used to provide information on costs and trends in prescribing in England and Wales to over 25,000 registered NHS and Department of Health and Social Care users.

Data Source

The data source is the NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse.

Time Period

The data provided shows pharmacies in England that were open as of Tuesday 29 May 2025.

Organisation Data

This includes pharmacies who have a future scheduled date for closure or takeover but are currently open.

The pharmacy links are identified through the pharmacy's company name, trading name, or Y code, so it may include subsidiaries of larger chains where we have been unable to confirm a link to the larger chain.

Publishing this response

Please note that this information will be published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02869

Your personal details will be removed from the published response.

Data Queries

Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.

Reusing the data and copyright

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data, please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “Data Warehouse NHSBSA Copyright 2025”. Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.