CPCF and Spending Review outlook discussed at September Committee Meeting

Community Pharmacy England met earlier this month in London, with Members reviewing early engagement with the new Government, alongside the outlook for the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) negotiations for 2024/25.

During a meeting on 11th and 12th September 2024, Committee Members remained focused on the urgent challenges facing pharmacy owners, particularly the barriers to making the most of Pharmacy First and the unrelenting financial pressures.

A review of Government relations and CPCF negotiations was a core focus, including Chief Executive Janet Morrison and Negotiating Team Members reporting back on their first meeting with the Pharmacy Minister Stephen Kinnock, and an update on ongoing economic work which had informed two submissions to the Treasury’s Spending Review.

Committee Members re-examined the outlook for the 2024/25 CPCF negotiations – which we hope will recommence soon – as well as exploring the impact of current pressing issues, such as financial pressures and increasing Pharmacy First thresholds, informed by recent polling of pharmacy owners. Given how much time and energy pharmacy teams have put into the Pharmacy First service, NHS England must match these considerable efforts through more effective advertising and encouraging use of the electronic referrals process.

Negotiation and influencing tactics will continue to be critical in securing our ambitions for the sector and the Committee reflected on the building blocks being put in place for the future –ahead of the development of the Government’s new ten-year plan for the NHS – including recent Parliamentary efforts and ongoing economic work. The Committee also considered governance issues and composition.

See the results of the Committee opinion polling here:

Briefing 018/24: What pharmacy owners told us in September 2024

The two-day meeting agenda included discussions around two economic projects – one being undertaken on behalf of Community Pharmacy England and the other commissioned by NHS England. The first, supported by PA Consulting, is helping to analyse the value of the sector and will provide a tool to help policymakers to better understand the benefits of introducing a variety of community pharmacy services. Meanwhile, NHS England’s Independent Economic Review is a hugely important, but very complex and time-consuming project, the outcome of which Community Pharmacy England is trying to ensure fairly represents actual sector costs.

The new Governance and People Subcommittee also reported back on detailed work on sector ownership data and committee composition, recognising a gap in representation of the non-CCA multiples with 10+ premises. Work will be taken forward to address this and, to move forward quickly, two observers from this part of the sector will be appointed. More information about the selection process will be published in the coming weeks.

Read more in the full meeting summary:

Briefing 019/24: Summary of September 2024 Committee Meeting

Commenting on the Committee meeting, Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy England, said:

“September’s Committee Meeting is always a chance for the Committee to reaffirm ambitions and reassess tactics ahead of the busy autumn political season. This has never been more important as the financial crisis engulfing pharmacy businesses continues, and as we await the re-start of negotiations on the CPCF for 2024/25.

Analysis of our pharmacy owner polling shows little change in the situation since the Committee last met: a sector in crisis, and a critical healthcare asset at risk. We are working hard to fully brief Ministers on this picture and to stress the urgent need for investment and support. This has included making submissions – both individually and collectively with other professions – to the Darzi Review and Spending Review; continuing our economic work; meeting with Minister Kinnock; and wide engagement with MPs across the new Parliament.

We agree with the new Government’s assessment that the NHS is broken: community pharmacy has much to contribute to support their ambitions to improve public health and fix the problems, but only if pharmacies can afford to stay open and have confidence in a secure future.”

Meeting outputs

Outputs from September’s Committee Meeting are linked below.

Briefing 018/24: What pharmacy owners told us in September 2024
This briefing outlines the results of the opinion polls conducted ahead of the September Committee Meeting, and how we are using the data.

Briefing 019/24: Summary of September 2024 Committee Meeting
This briefing provides more detail on the discussions the Committee had, including information from subcommittee meetings and next steps.