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Pharmacists have reacted with anger and frustration to the General Pharmaceutical Council’s proposal to increase registration and renewal fees by six per cent in each of the next two years.

Pharmacy’s regulator said it has started consulting pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and owners of pharmacy premises about the fee rises, which have already generated concern. The consultation closes on April 24.

If the proposals go ahead, pharmacists’ renewal fees will increase by £17 to £293 from September 2025, while pharmacy technician’s fees will go up by £8 to £138 and pharmacy premises fees by £24 to £416.

Those fees will increase again from September 2026, with pharmacists and pharmacy technicians paying £310 and £146 respectively and pharmacy premises renewal fees rising to £441.

The GPhC said the rises will address “rising operational costs” and ensure “the sustainability” of its “regulatory services.” However, pharmacists took to social media to express their anxiety, with many imploring the GPhC to cut its costs before increasing fees by moving its headquarters from Canary Wharf.

Locum pharmacist Tohidul Islam posted on X: “There’s absolutely no reason for the GPhC to have an office in central London. Literally none.” He also criticised increases in GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin’s salary.

His pay has risen in the last two years, according to the GPhC annual reports, going from pay band £170,000-£180,000 in 2021-22 to £180,000-£190,000 in 2022-23. It increased again to £190,000-£200,000 in 2023-24.

Another pharmacist, Lisa, said she “can see ways the GPhC can cut costs such as location given the current pharmacy climate, especially in community pharmacy.”

Fee increases are ridiculous. Don't have offices in Canary Wharf!

Pharmacist Ben Merrian said: “Inflation hasn't been six per cent for over a year. My costs as husband/father have gone up but salary hasn't this last year.

“Contractors have had 40 per cent real terms cut in funding since 2016 but massive rises in nearly all outgoings. We have no choice but to pay GPhC fees. How is this fair?”

James Prewett posted: “Ridiculous. Don't have offices in Canary Wharf for starters. Find it hard to see how a 12 per cent rise across the next two years is in any way justified.”

Lindsay Scott also urged the GPhC to cut its costs and told it to “stop penalising registrants who have no choice but to pay the fees.”

Pharmacy technician Sian Pickering posted: “Appreciate you are 'cost-saving' in areas but have you considered moving the office to a place without extortionate rental costs?

“Our fee goes up and so does the cost of living, yet the majority of pharmacy technician wages remain low and employees often do not reimburse.”

The GPhC told Independent Community Pharmacist it is not planning to move offices "in the near future."

"We moved into our new offices at 1 Cabot Square in Canary Wharf in 2023," it said. "The site was selected on strict criteria including supporting the delivery of our Vision 2030, providing best value for money and minimising disruption of ongoing services to the public and registrants.

"The new office is much smaller than our previous premises at just over half the size. The like-for-like savings for the accommodation equated to almost £0.9m a year."

CCA: It’s unfortunate registrants will bear brunt of costs

Meanwhile, the Company Chemists’ Association chief executive Malcolm Harrison said it was “understandable” the GPhC wanted to increase fees to “cover the rising costs of doing business and increased workload.”

However, he insisted it was “unfortunate” registrants and contractors will bear the brunt of those costs.

“All pharmacies are facing the same challenges as the GPhC but have no way to pass the costs on to either the payer or users of the professional services and premises they regulate,” Harrison said.

He again criticised the government for continuing “to hit the pharmacy sector with increased costs and workload without any increase to funding.”

“This leaves pharmacies with no way to mitigate the impact rising costs have on their business, which has led to more pharmacies reducing hours of access, or closing their doors altogether,” he said.

“There has been a loss of almost 3.4 million hours of pharmacy access per year since September 2022. Ultimately it is patients and taxpayers who suffer from the reduction in access to NHS care.”

The GPhC told ICP it "understand the proposed fee increases come at a time when pharmacies and pharmacy professionals are experiencing increased financial pressures."

However, it insisted the increases were "necessary" to allow it to fulfil its "statutory duties and provide assurance to the public."

"We have kept the fee increases as low as possible; we are proposing to increase fees by £24 for pharmacies in 2025, and by £25 in 2026," the regulator said.