The Independent Pharmacy Association (IPA) has issued a statement threatening to explore legal routes over “unsatisfactory funding” of the community pharmacy sector.
“Despite the government’s assertion that last year’s funding settlement was a record investment, that is not representative of the situation on the ground,” it said in a statement, which can be read in full at the end of this article, or from the Key Documents box to the right of the page.
“The unsatisfactory pharmacy funding, alongside the employers’ National Insurance contribution hike, rise in the national minimum wage, and the impending business rates increase, means that without urgent intervention, widespread closures are inevitable.”
“We therefore call on the government to enter these negotiations in good faith, with a genuine commitment to delivering a settlement that allows community pharmacies not merely to survive, but to be able to provide the best patient care possible via the enhanced role envisaged by the NHS 10-Year Plan.
“If the government does not approach these negotiations with the seriousness and responsibility shown by others, we will have no option but to explore all available avenues to address this situation, including legal routes if necessary.”
Read more: ‘Real economic peril’, CPE warns Kinnock in ‘uncompromising’ letter
The IPA also highlighted the “significant risk” the situation poses to “medicines supply” which it said “remains the Department of Health and Social Care’s most critical concern.
“Community pharmacies are the final link in the medicines supply chain, and further instability threatens patient access, continuity of care and wider NHS resilience,” it said.
It added that further closures risked exacerbating “already accelerating disproportionately in areas of deprivation, where pharmacies are heavily reliant on NHS income and have little or no ability to subsidise services through private provision.
“In these communities survival increasingly depends on public funding alone, and without it, branch closures will continue.
Read more: ‘Immediate’ action called for as negotiation delays continue
“There are also serious regional implications. Entire localities are now at heightened risk of losing essential pharmacy provision altogether. These losses directly reduce access to medicines, increase pressure on GP practices and A&E departments, and worsen health outcomes for the most vulnerable patients.”
The IPA was established in April 2024, following a rebrand of the AIMp.
Reasonable and necessary
Meanwhile IPCN, which started as a WhatsApp group several years ago before forming a cooperative in 2025, also sent a letter to members in support of the IPA’s stance where it “agrees that exploring legal options is a reasonable and necessary step if community pharmacy is once again left without adequate financial protection.
“We strongly support the call for unity across all representative bodies. Fragmentation at this stage would only weaken the sector’s position.
“IPCN stands ready to work collaboratively with IPA and other sector partners to ensure that the collective voice of contractors is heard clearly and taken seriously.”
The IPA statement in full
Independent Pharmacy Association (IPA) calls upon all the other pharmacy representative bodies to join us and come together to urge the government to bring forward a fair, credible and sustainable settlement for the forthcoming pharmacy funding negotiations.
The community pharmacy sector is in serious distress. More than 650 pharmacies closed last year in England and Wales, with many more at risk of closure in the coming year unless government support fundamentally changes. Despite the government’s assertion that last year’s funding settlement was a record investment, that is not representative of the situation on the ground. The unsatisfactory pharmacy funding, alongside the employers’ National Insurance contribution hike, rise in the national minimum wage, and the impending business rates increase, means that without urgent intervention, widespread closures are inevitable.
This situation poses a significant risk to medicines supply, which remains the Department of Health and Social Care’s most critical concern. Community pharmacies are the final link in the medicines supply chain, and further instability threatens patient access, continuity of care and wider NHS resilience.
Closures are already accelerating disproportionately in areas of deprivation, where pharmacies are heavily reliant on NHS income and have little or no ability to subsidise services through private provision. In these communities survival increasingly depends on public funding alone, and without it, branch closures will continue.
There are also serious regional implications. Entire localities are now at heightened risk of losing essential pharmacy provision altogether. These losses directly reduce access to medicines, increase pressure on GP practices and accident and emergency departments, and worsen health outcomes for the most vulnerable patients.
Local pharmacies are the lifeblood of communities and the front door of the National Health Service. With over 1.6 million people visiting their neighbourhood pharmacy every day, any further loss of pharmacy branches will have a devastating and lasting impact on patients, communities and the wider health system.
We therefore call on the Government to enter these negotiations in good faith, with a genuine commitment to delivering a settlement that allows community pharmacies not merely to survive, but to be able to provide the best patient care possible via the enhanced role envisaged by the NHS 10-Year Plan.
If the Government does not approach these negotiations with the seriousness and responsibility shown by others, we will have no option but to explore all available avenues to address this situation, including legal routes if necessary.
The future of community pharmacy, patient access to medicines and the resilience of the NHS depend urgent, fair and meaningful action.
