In the November Budget, the chancellor reduced business rate discounts that have been in place since the pandemic - from 75% to 40% - and said that there would be no discount at all from April.

In response, more than 1,000 pubs have reportedly banned Labour MPs from their premises.

The government is now expected to reveal in the coming days that it will make changes to how pubs' business rates are calculated, resulting in smaller rises to bills.

In response, Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said: ‘Pharmacies have recently seen a 140% increase in their business rates, despite receiving the vast majority of their income from the NHS.

‘Any relief or additional support that is being offered to pubs should be extended to community pharmacy premises, who cannot increase their prices to manage these costs, unlike an ordinary high street business.

‘We're urging the government to exempt pharmacy businesses from business rates altogether, in the same way as GPs are. Despite a recent uplift, pharmacies still face a yawning £2.6bn funding gap, with pharmacies closing in record numbers and those still open going to extraordinary and unsustainable lengths to do so.'