Key Summary
- Nine out of 10 pharmacy owners (92%) said that their current business rates bill prevents them from investing in new services.
- Some pharmacy owners said their rates bill has tripled and they have to shell out tens of thousands of pounds.
- Some owners claimed they have been forced to relocate due to significant increases in their rates bills in recent years.
A new survey by the National Pharmacy Association show that hundreds of pharmacy owners are considering closing down due to the impact of recent increases in business rates.
In the survey of 420 pharmacies, 48% (201 pharmacies) are considering closing due to the impact, while 55% (214) are actively considering moving premises to save money.
This could leave certain isolated rural and coastal communities, where rates are higher than the national average, without a pharmacy.
This year 44 pharmacies have closed down, leaving the network at its smallest since 2006. Nine in 10 council areas have seen at least one pharmacy close since 2022.
As the Prime Minister is set to embark on a national tour discussing the nation’s high streets, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has urged the government to exempt pharmacies from business rates or risk seeing pharmacies shut and the 10-Year Plan being put in jeopardy.
Pharmacies were excluded from recent rates relief offered to pubs and live music venues announced by the new Prime Minister, despite pharmacies providing a vital health service for local communities.
GPs and even dentists that provide NHS services are reimbursed for their business rates by the NHS.
No expansion
Nine out of 10 pharmacy owners (92%) said that their current business rates bill prevents them from investing in new services, their workforce and improvements in their premises.
Some pharmacy owners have told the NPA that their rates bill has tripled, with those operating in areas or units with higher rateable values being landed with bills for tens of thousands of pounds that could otherwise be invested in delivering more services to patients and moving care out of other parts of the health system.
Some pharmacies have told the NPA they have been forced to relocate out of areas that due to significant increases in their rates bills in recent years, forcing patients to travel further to access vital services.
Vital service
According to a recent poll of the general public carried out by the Association of Convenience Stores, pharmacies were the third most desired business to have on any high street, beating post offices, pubs, restaurants and coffee shops.
Unlike the vast majority of businesses that pay rates, including bookmakers, vape shops and pawn brokers, pharmacies receive the bulk of their income from the NHS, meaning they can’t increase their prices to meet rising costs.
Olivier Picard, Chair of the National Pharmacy Association said: “Pharmacies across the country are linchpins of their high streets, often being the anchor on parades of shops they exist on and providing vital medicines and other services to their patients.
“However, as this alarming survey shows, soaring business rates has prevented them for investing new services and has forced some to relocate or close altogether, damaging local economies.
“As the government rightly looks to revitalise our high streets, they must give pharmacies the same support as GPs and dentists and exclude them from paying business rates.
“Pharmacies are not like a pub, restaurant, vape shop or off licence. They cannot flex their prices to meet increasing costs such as these and are almost entirely dependent on funding from the NHS for their existence. They should not be treated in the same way.
“Pharmacies not only provide vital health services but are key to unlocking local economic growth.
“The public wants to see a thriving pharmacy network on their high streets and the government must stop pharmacy closures and provide business rates support, allowing pharmacies to invest in new services to patients and to flourish.”
