The Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) welcomes the uplift to the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) in England, announced today, as a step in the right direction but is urging the government to continue to deliver above-inflation increases in funding to close the pharmacy funding gap.
The new deal announces several measures that the CCA has been calling for, namely:
- An increase in core funding1
- An uplift in retained margin2
- Investment in dispensing via the increase to the Single Activity Fee (SAF)3
- Integrating independent prescribing into Pharmacy First4 5 6
The new funding comes against a backdrop of significant increases in costs that the sector has had to endure over the past year alone. This includes a 2.3% increase in NHS items7, 17% increase in service volumes8 9, almost 3% inflation10 and increases in operating costs due to changes to the national minimum wage, business rates and employers national insurance contributions.
The government must now commit to a roadmap for closing the gap to prevent further erosion of service for patients.
Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the CCA, said:
“Today’s 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.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
Retained margin
- A CCA analysis (September 2025) found that the actual value of retained margin in 2024/25 ought to have been at least £1.28bn in England, £430m short of its true value at the time.
- A parliamentary answer (March 2026) found that in 2025/26 retained margin was worth £120m less in real-terms compared to 2015/16.
References
1 – CCA, Pharmacies in England funded £800m less than a decade ago, Government confirms, 25 February 2026
2 – CCA, Margin is £430m short of its true value in England, 24 September 2025
3 – CCA, CCA press release: The value of community pharmacy dispensing, 29 January 2026
4 – CCA, CCA Press Release: Independent prescribing to community pharmacies in England, 27 May 2026
5 – CCA, CCA Prospectus 2025 – positioning community pharmacy as the home for routine primary care, freeing up 51m primary care appointments each year, 11 September 2025
6 – CCA, Pharmacy First expansion could free up 40m GP appointments a year, CCA report finds, 30 January 2025
7 – NHS Business Services’ Authority, Pharmacy and appliance contractor dispensing data
8 – Pharmacy and appliance contractor dispensing data, NHS Business Services’ Authority
9 – Pharmacy and appliance contractor dispensing data, NHS Business Services’ Authority
10 – Consumer price inflation, UK: April 2026, Office for National Statistics. Published 20 May 2026.