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The National Pharmacy Association has not ruled out its members embarking on collective action in protest at community pharmacy funding despite the Government’s announcement today of an increase for 2025-26.

NPA chair Nick Kaye welcomed Labour’s pledge to raise the sector’s funding to £3.073 billion from the annual £2.592 billion between 2019-20 to 2023-24 but warned the new deal was “a long way short” of what is needed to save pharmacies from closure as reflected in the independent economic analysis.

The analysis, commissioned by NHS England, said the full economic cost of providing NHS pharmaceutical services in England in 2023-24 was £4.397 billion to £5.730 billion.

The NPA had warned the Government its 6,000 members would decide whether they would limit their opening hours or services if it failed to disclose the details of fresh funding by April 1.

NPA: We'll look at the deal and consult with members on next steps

Although the Government has met that deadline, Kaye said the NPA will examine the deal in detail and consult with its members on what to do next.

“The truth is that because of a decade of neglect, (the new deal) falls a long way short of the NHS’s own estimates of the true cost of providing pharmacy services,” he said.

“We stand ready to work with ministers to close the funding gap, reform the system and deliver the sustainable, stronger pharmacy service that millions of people need so much.”

Kaye emphasised the NPA is keen to work with the Government to “deliver the better, more sustainable future for pharmacies and their patients that we all want to see”.

However, he warned the pharmacy contract was broken and needed “root and branch reform”.

“It is essential for that reform to happen to secure pharmacies and improve services for our communities,” he said.

Referencing the increases in national insurance, national living wage and business rates that will hit pharmacies tomorrow, Kaye said: “No-one wants to reduce services through protest action, so we’ll look carefully at the detail and consult our members who are facing substantial cost increases from April 1, to understand what this means for the future of their services so we can recommend next steps.”

Kinnock: We hope the NPA recognises this is a strong deal

When asked if the Government would come back to the negotiating table if the NPA decides the deal is insufficient and advises its members to pursue collective action, the health minister Stephen Kinnock told Independent Community Pharmacist Labour hoped the NPA “would do the right thing”.

“(We hope they) will recognise this deal is a strong deal for the sector,” he said. “This is the time now to work together with us. We all have the same shared aim, the same common agenda, the Government and the entire sector.

“I don’t think there’s a pharmacist in the country who doesn’t have the best interests of the sector at heart. We are working at straining every sinew to secure as much funding as we can to drive forward as much reform as we can and to work together.

“That’s why I said in parliament the NPA’s potential action was a disappointing decision they took. It was premature and it was detrimental to patients.”

We hope NPA reconsiders their position, minister says

Kinnock urged the NPA to “engage closely with their colleagues in the CPE, engage closely with the shared agenda we all have and I would say them ‘let’s have some serious consideration of what the priorities should be.’

“And what the best next steps for them should be in the interests of the pharmacy sector and indeed the interests of our entire NHS. So, I hope they will reconsider their position and I hope they will engage on that basis.”

Kaye suggested the funding agreement for 2025-26 will give pharmacies some relief “about their financial position” but insisted “a decade of 40 per cent cuts to their funding that has left the pharmacy network on its knees”.

“It is good to see a concrete sign that ministers want to support pharmacies which have so much potential to achieve the Government’s vision of care closer to communities,” he said.

“The Government inherited an intolerable situation after more than a decade of real terms cuts and today's settlement is a step forward.”