Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has revealed a 10% uplift to CPCF funding for the coming year, taking the total CPCF funding package to £3.636bn.
CPE said the settlement also includes a £200m uplift to the margin allowance. And that the government is writing-off over-delivery that was earned up to the end of March 2026, which it said would save contractors up to £239m.
It said this write-off was made in an effort to stabilise the volatility the medicines supply chain is experiencing.
Read more: Exclusive - Janet Morrison: Why CPE voted to accept
It also pointed to a series of regulatory changes in the new agreement relating to independent prescribing, late payments, staff training, workplace welfare, and nomination theft.
Pharmacies will be allowed to close for up to four hours a month to support staff training, late payment claims for Pharmacy First and NMS will be allowed, and CPE vowed to continue efforts to protect staff from abuse, and prevent nomination theft by unscrupulous pharmacy operators.
Reluctant
However, CPE stressed it had been reluctant to accept the deal. Though it said improvements to the final offer were achieved during negotiations, and that the new funding will cover growth in activity and inflation in the coming year, it fell short of making “significant progress towards delivering sustainability to an increasingly unstable sector.”
Read more: What the CPE committee said after the deal: ‘Trust does run out...’
CPE also said it was “not persuaded that sufficient investment is being made to enable the full and effective introduction of IP within the CPCF, given the workload, enhanced clinical responsibility, clinical governance and infrastructure requirements that it will entail.”
What's in the contract?
- A 10.3% (£340m) funding uplift to £3,636m for the CPCF and Pharmacy First budgets (which will be combined).
- A £200m uplift to retained margin to £1.1bn
- A write-off of net over-delivery of contract funding (margin) earned up to the end of 2025/26 – up to £239m
- Single Activity Fee will increase by 6p to £1.52
- Independent Prescribing to be added to Pharmacy First and PCS in the autumn
- A £20m Pharmacy Quality Scheme with 80% Aspiration payment payable on 1 September
- Agreement to allow late payment claims for Pharmacy First and NMS
- Pharmacies able to close for training for up to four hours a month
- Government commitment to agenda to reform Community Pharmacy Strategy
It said as negotiations had continued, it “raised concerns that with the proposed funding, the addition of IP to the CPCF risked being set up to fail. It will be down to pharmacy owners to decide on an individual basis whether they want to provide the service or prioritise the use of IP skills elsewhere.”
CPE also warned the government that the pressures on pharmacies will mean “continued closures, reduced opening hours, deteriorating quality of service and risk unavoidable harm to patients”.
Risky business
However, it did recognise that the pharmacy funding uplift is the “highest across primary care” and that ministers have “committed to working jointly on reforms that will build the strategy for community pharmacy and explore alternative contract, funding, and reimbursement models which would have been impossible without constructive engagement”.
And it said ultimately it had concluded it was “too risky” for the future of the sector to step away from the table.
Read more: How industry bodies reacted to the contract news
“This was a very difficult decision for committee members, who know themselves how serious the situation is for pharmacy owners, as evidenced again and again, including by the independent economic review, and understand why some have called for more radical action,” said CPE chief executive Janet Morrison.
“But they also know that a 10% funding increase is significant in a tight government spending envelope and should not be dismissed. It reflects the case we have made to government and ministers, over many months and years, to prioritise pharmacy funding.
“Accepting this deal does not mean we think it is enough, for this year or the future. It does not mean we will simply accept whatever government or the NHS proposes. And it does not mean the job is done.
Read more: Dispensing at a loss - is it justified to refuse on financial grounds?
“It means the opposite. We have been clear with government that the sector is in a critical position, and that we now need urgent work on a sustainable long-term solution, including reform of the contract, funding and reimbursement model.
“As part of this deal, government have committed to work with us on this programme of work.
“That work will be difficult and will take time.
“But refusing this deal would have put more pharmacies, and the services they provide to patients and communities, at greater risk. The committee was not prepared to take that risk.”
