There’s just one mention of pharmacies in the Budget Red Book, that sets out spending plans and policy announcements – that refers to the announcement earlier this year to roll out free emergency contraception in pharmacies in England.
But the big news will be the announcement last night of a 4.1% increase in the national living wage for over 21s (8.5% for 18-20 year olds) which is likely to impose upward pressure on salaries in pharmacies. While pharmacy teams and the low paid deserve a rise, we’ll be making it very clear that the Government needs to cover these sort of imposed extra costs to avoid a further real terms cut in pharmacy funding when the English pharmacy settlement for 2026 is agreed, let alone progress towards filling the £2.6bn funding gap revealed by the NHS commissioned independent economic review in England.
With pharmacies in Scotland and Wales already receiving a 4% uplift, we’ll be anxious that rise is not wiped out by costs imposed by Westminster.
On the other side of the equation, NI rates are not rising and Business Rates are also easing for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, paid for by higher rates for properties with a rateable value over £500,000.
For the wider NHS, there’s a pledge to release £17bn in three years through annual “efficiency savings” and a prediction that the reorganisation of NHS England will save £1bn a year - we clearly hope that some of those savings are reinvested in pharmacy services at the front line – the clear case is that a £2.6bn funding gap remains and investment could secure the pharmacy network, deliver rapid service improvements for patients and contribute to the Government’s ambitions to move care from hospital to the community. You can be sure that we will be repeating that case again and again.
£300m will be invested in technology to improve patient service alongside 250 new neighbourhood health centres (to expand care into the community allowing treatment to take place outside of hospitals. One hundred new centres will be delivered by 2030. Clearly we think that pharmacies are a big part of this picture, and new services should not duplicate the work NPA members already do. There’s also money for technology in health, likely to focus on the NHS App.
Elsewhere, there’s a pledge to make apprenticeships for the under 25s free for SMEs.
Of course, for England the key announcement will be the CPCF settlement for next year - we’ll be making the case that pharmacies deserve investment, need funding to stablise the network and invest in the future, and are great value to communities.
Here’s our initial verdict:
Henry Gregg, NPA chief executive said:
“Pharmacy staff across the country are absolutely deserving of a pay rise, but the increase in the national minimum wage announced today will add significantly to the financial pressures pharmacies are under as businesses and as a core component of the health service across the UK.
“Adding four per cent-plus to the minimum wage makes the financial mountain they are facing even bigger.
“The Chancellor has said that getting NHS waiting lists down is one of the Budget’s key objectives. We therefore urge the Government to invest in community pharmacies, so they can relieve pressure on our overstretched hospitals and GPs.”
“The Government has promised that reorganising NHS England and other adminstrative reforms will unlock a billion pounds a year by the end of this parliament. The NPA wants any savings to go straight to the front line of care in our communities, which includes our beleaguered community pharmacies, so patients quickly feel the benefits.
“Despite a funding increase in the Spring pharmacies in England are still facing the legacy of historic underfunding that has closed more than a thousand pharmacies."
