19p SAF increase to be included in April and May advance payments

Following discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has agreed a mechanism that will allow pharmacy owners to receive the 19p increase to the Single Activity Fee (SAF) earlier for the dispensing months of April and May 2025.

CPE said: “The advance payments for these dispensing months will be adjusted to incorporate the uplift to the SAF. No adjustment to advance payments will be required from the June 2025 dispensing month onwards.”

As part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) arrangements for 2024/25 and 2025/26 announced at the end of March, the SAF was increased by 19p to £1.46 per item, effective from April 2024.

Typically, NHSBSA calculates advance payments based on each pharmacy’s latest Average Item Value (AIV) figure, declared items and the value of prescription charges.

As the historic AIV figures would not have incorporated the 19p SAF increase, pharmacy owners would have only received the benefit upon receipt of the balancing payments, around 60 days after the end of the dispensing month under the current payment timetable.

Commenting on the announcement, Nick Kaye, chair of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), said: "We've long warned that pharmacies face significantly increased costs in April and May, and so it is good news that the government has recognised this by taking a small step to try and mitigate these increases.

"This has been a period of immense challenge for pharmacies and because the current settlement only slightly reduces the funding gap, we’ll be monitoring closely to see if the wider CPCF offer has a stabilising effect on the pharmacy network."

Under the adjusted mechanism, pharmacy owners will receive the benefit of the 19p SAF uplift when they receive their advance payment for April and May 2025.

The timing of this payment will vary depending on whether pharmacies follow the early advance or normal advance timetable.

Early Advance (received for MYS FP34C submissions made by the 5th of the month)

Pharmacies receiving their early advance payment around 10-12 days after the conclusion of the month will have the 19p SAF uplift included in the advance payment (‘Payment on account for’ field, itemized on the Schedule of Payments for March and April 2025). This will not show as an additional payment.

Normal Advance (received for MYS FP34C submissions made after the 5th of the month)

Pharmacies receiving their normal advance payment around 30 days after the conclusion of the month will have the 19p SAF uplift included as an ‘Additional advance payment’ itemized on their Schedule of Payments for March and April 2025.