In a message he recorded for the NPA Conference, health secretary Matt Hancock told community pharmacists they are a vital part of the health service and that they will be “ever more important to the NHS and the country in the years to come”.

Commenting that “people trust pharmacists,” Mr Hancock said his department “needs to draw on your expertise – and crucially, your invaluable human connection you have with the people you serve”.

Enhanced roles in detection, prevention and minor illness are all part of Mr Hancock’s “vision” of a health service driven by local needs, he said.

His message did not go into funding or the ongoing contract negotiations, but pharmacy minister Seema Kennedy told the NPA conference she was “alert to financial pressures” and that the DHSC sought a “fair settlement” that would reward those pharmacies that deliver a wider range of services.