Gagan Mohindra MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Sept 2026 · Pharmacies: Government Funding · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East (Shivani Raja) on securing such an important debate. Supporting our pharmacies is one of my long-standing commitments; I have spoken about the issue many times in the Chamber. Pharmacies are at the heart of primary care, and I am grateful for the contribution they make to our community—dispensing medicines, delivering vaccinations, offering advice for minor conditions and providing clinical services that would otherwise need to be delivered elsewhere. Pharmacies are accessible and embedded in our high streets. For millions, they are the front door to the NHS. I have had the pleasure of speaking to pharmacists from across my South West Hertfordshire constituency, visiting Abbey pharmacy in Abbots Langley, Boots in Kings Langley and Esom pharmacy in South Oxhey, and even undertaking work experience at Riverside pharmacy in Rickmansworth. As I have said in Parliament before, my discussions have made it clear that our pharmacies are under unsustainable pressure as a result of the Labour Government’s continued attack on retail businesses. I welcome the commitment in the Government’s 10-year health plan to move more healthcare responsibilities from hospitals into our communities, but that is not feasible unless pharmacies receive the necessary financial support. It is important to note that community pharmacies have not been exempted from any of the Government’s harmful economic policies against retail businesses. Since the Government’s announcements at the autumn 2024 Budget, their employer national insurance contributions and national living wage have increased, and their rate of business rates relief has reduced. Pharmacies now face significantly higher operating costs.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Pharmacies: Government Funding · Hansard source

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  I am very conscious that I have a former Chancellor and Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak), sitting to my left; he might argue for keeping it simple. I would argue that a pharmacy’s primary business is healthcare related, and that either we support our healthcare system or we do not. Doing it piecemeal is not in the best interests of what some of my residents regard as the frontline of the NHS system. In the past 12 months alone, more than 600 neighbourhood pharmacies have closed. That looks set to worsen, because business rates relief for retail businesses has been removed for this financial year—a significant shift from the 75% business rates relief afforded to retail businesses in 2024 under the previous Conservative Government. Although GP practices can have their business rates reimbursed by the NHS, and NHS dental practices can also qualify for reimbursement, community pharmacies receive no equivalent compensation, despite providing NHS services every day, as has been mentioned. How is this fair or reasonable at a time when the Government are shifting more responsibility to the sector? I have also been in contact with Community Pharmacy Hertfordshire. Although the 2026-27 community pharmacy contract provides additional investment in community pharmacies, it still falls short of what is needed to put the framework on a sustainable financial footing. Research conducted by the Independent Pharmacies Association, which has done a brilliant campaign on this matter, shows that an average pharmacy dispensing 10,000 items a month still faces a shortfall of £56,000 against what would be needed to keep pace with inflation—a very stretched financial situation. When I met with the previous Minister for Care, the right hon. Member for Aberafan Maesteg (Stephen Kinnock), earlier this year, I was disappointed that he could not outline clear steps as to how that situation could be alleviated. Without a sustainable, longer-term funding settlement, more pharmacies risk closing at the same time as the NHS is asking the sector to do more. It is also disappointing that the Government have delayed Pharmacy First payments. Under the previous Conservative Government, the Pharmacy First initiative was introduced to allow community pharmacies to support patients with common conditions, reducing the pressure faced by our GPs. Now, many pharmacies I speak to have said they are struggling to deliver this service as a result of the Government’s withholding of funding. The impact of pharmacies in delivering primary care should not be underestimated. Shifting more flu vaccinations into pharmacies could free up around 4.5 million GP appointments each year. In conclusion, pharmacies are accessible and already have the infrastructure and clinical expertise to provide more care closer to home. However, patients will benefit from an expanded role for community pharmacies if their pharmacy stays open. Currently, with unsustainable operating costs and limited Government funding, that has become increasingly difficult. Without the financial support to deliver these services, many pharmacies risk closing. If the Government want to shift care from hospitals into communities, the funding must follow.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Summer Jobs · Hansard source

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  I refer the House to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Every summer, thousands of students, school leavers and young people across our country begin searching for seasonal work. For many, these jobs are much more than a payslip; they are the first step into employment and a chance to earn their own money, gain independence, develop confidence and learn the responsibilities that come with work. I know just how valuable such opportunities can be. Today’s debate is important not simply because it is about businesses, but because it is about protecting opportunity. It is about ensuring that the next generation has the chance to develop the skills, confidence and experience that will shape the rest of their lives. Seasonal jobs matter because they support people at every stage of life. From the responsibility and skills I learned in my childhood paper round to the office temping I did throughout university, my seasonal jobs helped shape my career. Those first experiences of employment have been just as valuable to my career as the more permanent roles that followed. For students across the country, such jobs help them earn money towards university or everyday living costs. They give young people confidence and experience before entering the full-time workforce, and they enable businesses to meet the increased demand that often comes with the busy summer months. However, those opportunities exist only if businesses have the confidence to recruit, and that confidence is being steadily eroded by the policies of this Labour Government. As a result, such opportunities are becoming harder and harder to find and youth unemployment is rising. Businesses across the country are facing rising costs from every direction. Employer national insurance contributions have increased, wage costs have risen significantly, employment regulations have become more complex and burdensome, and energy bills and overheads have continued to soar. Any one of those pressures would be challenging, but together they are forcing businesses to make difficult decisions. The businesses I speak to are not telling me they no longer need staff; they are telling me they simply cannot afford to employ as many people as they once could, and that has consequences far beyond their balance sheets. Across South West Hertfordshire, I have heard that message repeatedly. In Sarratt, I visited Micklefield Hall, a wonderful local events venue. It explained that the biggest barrier to employing young people today is cost. It used to happily recruit students straight from local schools, investing time in training those people with little or no experience. It even offered apprenticeships. Today, that has become much harder. As wage costs have increased, more experienced workers are being prioritised for roles that would previously have been filled by young seasonal workers, simply to keep costs down. Apprenticeships are no longer financially viable and have stopped. The manager, Tom, left me with a simple, powerful question: how can the Government expect businesses such as that to continue supporting their local community when they are spending most of their time simply trying to survive? I also spoke to the manager at Waitrose in Rickmansworth. Weekend shifts there have traditionally been filled by students, giving hundreds of young people meaningful employment and helping them to build confidence, responsibility and valuable workplace skills. The manager explained that the increases in national insurance contributions and wage costs have added millions of pounds to the company’s costs, forcing it to make significant efficiency savings across the business. For now, Waitrose has, as a large employer, managed to absorb those costs, but it raises an important question: if even businesses of that size are having to reduce costs elsewhere, what does that mean for smaller employers who simply do not have the same financial resilience? How long can the reduced amount of summer jobs that remain continue to exist? One of the biggest tourist attractions in my constituency is the Harry Potter studio tour in Leavesden, which is a major employer of young people. The business was hit with huge costs after the last-minute change to VAT resulted in refunds for a significant amount of pre-sale tickets. When such businesses are forced to absorb unexpected costs caused by the uncertainty that this Government create for them, it is our young, inexperienced people whose opportunities are at risk. At the Grove Hotel in my constituency, I was told that, disappointingly, due to the cost of hiring staff since this Government have been in office, the business has had to tighten its approach to seasonal work and has taken on longer fixed contracts over more flexible opportunities that suit students. That is again taking away even more vital first employment opportunities for young people. Another hospitality business, Anna’s Kitchen, caters events across my area and employs many young people around term time. In fact, one of my own members of staff worked there before joining my office. At just 18 years old, the skills, confidence and responsibility he developed through that job played an important role in helping him to secure employment here in Parliament. These stories are exactly why these opportunities matter. They are not simply summer jobs; they are stepping stones to successful careers. Behind every one of these examples lies the same concern. Businesses still want to employ young people—they recognise the value that young people bring, and the value that the businesses offer them—yet increasing costs are making those opportunities more difficult to provide. The consequences stretch far beyond individual businesses. When seasonal jobs disappear, young people lose valuable first experiences of work; businesses reduce their opening hours or scale back services; hospitality, tourism and retail suffer; local economies lose spending power; and, ultimately, economic growth slows. Growth happens when businesses have the confidence to invest, expand and create jobs. That is why this Government must work with businesses, not against them, and why the Conservatives would reduce the cost of employing seasonal workers by repealing large parts of the Employment Rights Act. We would abolish business rates for thousands of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, cut the red tape that stops employers recruiting young people, and introduce our cheap power plan, which would cut electricity bills by 20% for businesses. I will go back to what I said at the start: this debate is ultimately about opportunity. Our young people should not be priced out of those vital first steps into employment by the harmful policies that this Labour Government used to fund the welfare bill. Every seasonal job created is another young person gaining confidence, building skills and taking that first important step into the world of work. Those opportunities are worth protecting, and I urge the Government to recognise the damage that they are doing to the opportunity for our young people to fulfil their potential.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Summer Jobs · Hansard source

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  You were overpaid!

• 7 Jul 2026 · Summer Jobs · Hansard source

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  Why is the Minister talking about people’s skin?

• 7 Jul 2026 · Summer Jobs · Hansard source

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  Twenty-one!