Key Summary
- While the CCA, NPA, and RPS welcome the 10.3 percent increase in investment, they warn the funding uplift will be entirely swallowed by inflation and soaring operating costs.
- The NPA is demanding urgent talks with the health secretary, arguing the current NHS pharmacy contract is "broken beyond repair" and requires fundamental structural reform to halt record closures.
- Although sector bodies back the rollout of independent pharmacist prescribing, they emphasize that its success relies heavily on immediate workforce investment, training, and capacity support.
There has been a mixed reaction to the outcome of the 2026/27 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) negotiations, with Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) and Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) calling it a step in the right direction, but urged the government to deliver consecutive, above-inflation increases, while the National Pharmacy Association has launched a poll of its members to understand how the settlement will impact frontline services.
The CCA statement acknowledged that the settlement addresses key requirements - including an increase in core funding, an uplift in retained margin, investment in dispensing via the Single Activity Fee (SAF), and the integration of independent prescribing into Pharmacy First - it warns that this funding arrives against a backdrop of severe cost pressures.
Over the past year alone, the sector has endured a 2.3 per cent increase in NHS items, a 17 per cent increase in service volumes, nearly 3 per cent inflation, and rising operating costs driven by hikes to the national minimum wage, business rates, and employers' National Insurance contributions.
CCA stresses that the government must commit to a roadmap for closing the gap to prevent further erosion of service for patients.
Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the CCA, said: “The announcement recognises the longstanding and significant economic challenges facing the sector.
“We welcome continued efforts to close the widely-acknowledged pharmacy funding gap which comes against a backdrop of increasing costs and rising workload. The Government must continue to work with the sector to close this gap, so that pharmacies can continue to supply the vital medicines that patients and the public need.
“The sector needs year-on-year above inflation increases in funding. Without this, patients will face continued reductions in access to medicines and access to pharmaceutical care. This will, in turn, place even greater pressure on the wider NHS.
“Independent prescribing is a generational opportunity to expand the care that pharmacies can provide to patients. This announcement is the first step in realising this opportunity. However, unlocking the full potential of independent prescribing will require continued ambition, collaboration, and investment.
“Community pharmacy stands ready to do more to release GP capacity, improve access to primary care and play a central role in the government’s vision for neighbourhood healthcare, but only if the network is underpinned by sustainable funding.”
NPA calls for urgent contract reform
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) claims that its earlier analysis had shown that an 8.9 per cent increase is required for pharmacy budgets to stand still; this settlement sits just 1.3 per cent above that baseline.
The association expressed concern that the uplift will be entirely consumed by rising costs, such as National Living Wage contributions, inflation, and business rates, rather than addressing chronic underfunding.
The NPA is calling for more transparency in a system currently shrouded in secrecy with little input from pharmacies or their representative bodies.
NPA chair Olivier Picard noted that while the announcement brings some immediate relief, it contributes very little toward closing the £2.5 billion funding gap identified by the NHS a year ago. He emphasised that independent prescribing must be backed by sustained funding, and warned that under current funding levels, many pharmacies will struggle to implement the service. "Pharmacies cannot sustain yet more loss-making work," Picard warned.
Picard also highlighted the human cost of the crisis, pointing to a record number of closures and contractors struggling with depleted pension savings and remortgaged homes. He noted that members desperately need immediate relief from rising costs without the constant threat of NHS clawbacks.
"It is clear that the contract between pharmacies and the NHS, and the means by which it is agreed with the sector, now requires urgent and fundamental reform if the Government is to deliver on its promises," Picard added.
He acknowledged that the Government had listened to the NPA’s repeated calls to cover immediate rising costs and halt the threat of clawing back spending on soaring medicine prices from last year - a move that could have further destabilised pharmacies.
However, he maintained that the current settlement is not enough to fix a decade of underfunding, leaving pharmacies with an invidious choice between months of chaos and a guaranteed offer worth £33,000 per pharmacy.
Ultimately, Picard stated that funding must be delivered swiftly to avoid further instability. Moving forward, the NPA intends to focus heavily on long-term contract reform to ensure pharmacies no longer subsidise the nation’s medicines bill, bringing an end to indiscriminate clawbacks and opening up new opportunities for patient care.
RPS’s stresses on continued progress
Amandeep Doll, director for England at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), welcomed the Government’s ambition to expand the role of community pharmacy and improve patient access to care through the latest investment of £340 million and the planned rollout of NHS-funded independent prescribing.
Doll noted that enabling qualified pharmacists to assess, treat, and prescribe directly is a positive step toward delivering localised care, but warned that services must be adequately supported to avoid a "postcode lottery" for patient access.
“Progress must not stop here, and the Government must continue to build on today’s settlement and ensure that the new generation of pharmacist prescribers can fully use their skills to support patients across care settings.
“However, the shift to prescribing also brings greater clinical responsibility and time pressures. Its success will depend on sufficient investment in workforce training and capacity, protected time for professional development and system leadership, and strong clinical governance to ensure high standards of care. Without this, there is a risk that the ambition for prescribing in community pharmacy will not be fully realised.”
She concluded by reinforcing that community pharmacies continue to face severe financial and workforce challenges, making sustained long-term investment and deep engagement with the pharmacy workforce absolutely essential for future success.
