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Ashley Dalton MP has been appointed as a parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), following the dismissal of Andrew Gwynne MP by prime minister Keir Starmer last week. Dalton has served as the MP for West Lancashire since her election on 9 February 2023. Describing herself as "a mum, a carer, a cancer survivor, and a proud Lancashire lass," Dalton shares on her official page: "I grew up just outside of West Lancashire in Leyland and spent 25 years working with grassroots communities in local government. My life has been dedicated to helping residents and improving local services, and I am proud to continue doing so as your MP." Starmer sacked Gwynne, MP for Gorton and Denton since 2005, over alleged anti-semitic, racist and sexist remarks. He has also been suspended from the Labour Party. On Saturday, Gwynne expressed regret for his "badly misjudged" comments, which led to his dismissal as junior health minister.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is pushing ahead with its plans to implement a new drug tariff from April 2024. However, this move has sparked strong opposition from Community Pharmacy England (CPE), raising concerns about its potential impact on pharmacies and patients. Earlier, it was announced that the April drug tariff will include the new 'Retrospective top-up payment for Concessionary prices, which will be applied automatically for the products listed in Part VIIIE each quarter by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), according to the volume the contractor was paid for. However, CPE argued that the government has imposed these "untested" changes without their agreement, and strongly opposed them stating that "no recovery or downward pressure on margin is acceptable given the financial fragility of community pharmacies." Janet Morrison, chief executive of CPE, has voiced strong opposition to these changes, arguing that "any system expecting pharmacies to dispense at a loss" jeopardises the sector's financial stability and compromises patient care.