A proposed Government levy of £56 on businesses that claim exemptions from waste charges would place excessive financial strain on pharmacies, Community Pharmacy England has said. 

Responding to the Environment Agency’s (EA) consultation on its proposal to introduce new exemption charges and fees where intervention is requred from April this year, CPE said the sector is “not able to cope with any additional burdens unless they are funded by the NHS and agreed with the Government”.

The EA is proposing regulatory charges to tackle the almost £1bn annual cost to the taxpayer of illegal waste activities and the £87m cost of exemption breaches. Its consultation ran from November 11 to January 20.

The agency’s proposals include widening the categories of waste for which exemption charges must be paid – they currently only apply to electrical and electronic equipment – and a registration charge of £56 for each exemption to help cover the cost of registering them for a period of three years. The charges would rise in step with inflation each year, said the EA. 

CPE hit back at the proposals in its response to the consultation, warning they would “put further pressure on a sector that is already at breaking point”.

“The introduction of these charges would put further pressure on a sector that is already at breaking point,” said CPE in its response.

Pharmacies “have no ability to pass on costs to their NHS patients,” it added. 

The negotiator also argued that pharmacies should not have to register with the EA for a proposed compliance band charge because they “are already registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council” which “inspects pharmacies on a regular basis” as well as being regularly visited by the NHS for audits and compliance checks, which include monitoring compliance with T28 waste exemptions for denaturing controlled drugs.  

“All waste exemptions, including the use of the T28 exemption, can be carried out without the registration… this means that the Environment Agency will have less need to visit NHS pharmacies,” said CPE.