Advance Payments Update: Payments now include Flu and Covid-19 activity
From this month, pharmacy owners may notice a difference in their Advance payments, with these payments higher in value than they have been previously.
This is because of a change in policy, with several NHS services now being paid on the same date as the early Advance payment for dispensed prescriptions. Community Pharmacy England has been pressing the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to agree to do this for some time as it provides quicker payment for delivering services.
Advance service payments now include the consultation fees for Flu (adult), Covid-19 and Emergency Contraception (part of the Pharmacy Contraception Service). This follows the inclusion of the Hypertension Case-Finding Service (HCFS) and the Pharmacy Contraception Service (PCS) to the service fee advance payment as part of changes announced in April 2025. Reimbursement for any items supplied in connection with the Flu (adult), Pharmacy First service and PCS are also factored into the calculation of the main drug Advance payment itself.
The following services are now included in the Advance payment calculation:
| Service | Included in Advance payment calculation from: | Service fee advance | Advance for product supplied |
| Community Pharmacy Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Advanced Service (Adult Flu) |
September 2025 (Adult flu only) (Childhood flu not yet included in the Advance payment) |
Yes | Yes |
| COVID-19 vaccination service | September 2025 | Yes | n/a |
| Pharmacy First | April 2025 | n/a | Yes |
| Pharmacy Contraception Service (including Emergency Contraception) | April 2025(Emergency Contraception included from October 2025) | Yes | Yes |
| Hypertension Case-Finding Service | April 2025 | Yes | n/a |
Please note: Community Pharmacy England is working with DHSC and the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) to understand how the advance payments for specified services have been calculated. Advance payments for further services will be included in this ‘Service fee advance’ as NHSBSA’s pricing systems continue to be developed.
The value of the ‘Service fee advance’ displayed on the payment schedule is calculated based on the activity declared via the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal. Pharmacy owners will receive service fee advances on the same day as the early Advance payment for dispensed prescriptions, provided the declaration is submitted within the usual claiming deadlines.
The service fee Advance payment is then recovered at the end of the following month – similar to the recovery of advances paid for prescriptions. This value will appear in the Schedule of Payments as ‘Recovery of service fee advance’.
For example, many pharmacy owners who provided NHS Flu (adult) and/or Covid-19 vaccinations in October 2025 will have received a larger than expected Advance payment on 11th November. This advance payment will be recovered when the October reconciliation payment is received on 31st December 2025 as per the payment timetable for 2025. This will appear under the ‘Recovery of service fee advance’ under the ‘Summary of Payment Amounts’ section of the Schedule of Payments.
The image below shows how these values are reflected in the Schedule of Payments:
The image below illustrates the payment timetable for activity completed in October 2025
For more information, please see our Monthly payments page and our Understanding your FP34 Schedule of Payments page.
NHSBSA has also published a guide to Understanding your Schedule of Payments guide on their Payment Information page.
