Progress has been made on contract negotiations despite the lack of a 2012-13 funding agreement, PSNC chief executive Sue Sharpe told delegates at the LPC conference in Birmingham last week (November 28).

PSNC recognised contractors' frustration and concern because negotiations with the Department of Health (DH) over the cost of service inquiry (COSI) had not yet concluded, Ms Sharpe said.

"There has been no lack of will to bring negotiations to a conclusion, either in my team or in the department," she added, but it was a "tough time to be negotiating".

"There has been no lack of will to bring negotiations to a conclusion, either in my team or in the department" Sue Sharpe, PSNC

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"Their [the DH's] resources are extremely limited and they've been overwhelmed by other urgent priorities, mainly related to the legislation that has reformed the NHS structures." But PSNC had made progress in its negotiations she insisted, by updating the COSI data to ensure it reflected the "costs and activity of today" and through negotiations on costs included in the funding package that did not refer to nationally commissioned services.

Ms Sharpe expected to reach a conclusion "quite soon", but PSNC had to ensure it took the time needed "to get a fair settlement for contractors that gets the very best deal possible".

Decisions made by PSNC affected committee members as much as the people they represented, Ms Sharpe stressed. "Of course contractors should have means to question the decisions that our committee members make, but they should keep in mind that the decisions that they make affect their own businesses as much as those of the people they represent."

Ms Sharpe also said she had recognised more than a year ago that there was "room for improvement" in the way PSNC communicates with contractors.

"[In the past] many felt that we were being secretive. I understand that, and we recognised over a year ago the need to improve our communications," she said.

Responding to her speech, Independent Pharmacy Federation (IPF) chairman Fin McCaul said PSNC was in a "challenging position given the overall place of the NHS at the moment".

But he said that pharmacy had already "delivered huge savings in terms of category M, but also in terms of efficiency savings and the increase in the number of prescriptions" and that "the challenge for PSNC" is to "get that across to the government".

Watch how the LPC conference unfolded with C+D's exclusive video package.