CPCF Negotiations: Update in light of new Government

Community Pharmacy England has been continuing to make the case for the community pharmacy sector following the General Election, but negotiations are not expected to resume before September.

In the first weeks of the new Government urgent representations have been made to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England on the forthcoming Pharmacy First thresholds and ongoing funding challenges, and we have written to the new Secretary of State, Wes Streeting, the Pharmacy Minister, Stephen Kinnock, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

The Labour Government has been clear that they face significant funding shortfalls for core public services and the Chancellor has said she is planning to make a statement on the state of public finances before the recess on 30th July. The Chancellor has instructed officials in HM Treasury to work with all Departments to determine the current financial pressures across Government.

Read the Chancellor’s recent speech here

The Department and NHS England have emphasised the financial constraints facing the NHS throughout negotiations with Community Pharmacy England until they were paused by the announcement of the general election. After the Chancellor’s recent announcement, it is likely that there will need to be further discussions with HM Treasury on the funding available for the Department and the NHS including primary care. It is Community Pharmacy England’s view that DHSC and NHS England are unlikely to be in a position to re-engage in negotiations on the 2024/25 contract until this process has concluded – and that they are therefore unlikely to re-commence before September.

Influencing work

As part of the most recent negotiations, a significant amount of economic analysis was submitted to the Government and NHS by Community Pharmacy England’s Negotiating Team, setting out very clearly the scale of the financial distress that community pharmacies are in.

Our analysis very clearly shows that current CPCF funding is not sufficient to cover the myriad costs pressures that pharmacies are facing, and that many businesses are now teetering on the edge of collapse. We are continuing to warn of the immediate risks to patients and primary care.

We have also been working with an independent consultancy, PA Consulting, which has extensive experience working across Government, to carry out economic analysis looking at funding requirements, cost benefit analysis of the value delivered, and the business case for future investment in the community pharmacy sector.

Alongside preparation for the upcoming continuation of negotiations and economic work to try to influence longer-term spending priorities in pharmacy’s favour, political engagement with the new Parliament has also been undertaken and we have now:

• Made contact with the vast majority of MPs about community pharmacy, including putting LPCs in contact with a network of key pharmacy supporters;
• Begun planning our first Parliamentary event for the autumn;
• Briefed MPs ahead of a pharmacy debate and Parliamentary Health Questions; and
• Published an updated MP Briefing and MP Visit Guidance to support LPCs and pharmacy owners to make contact with local MPs – this would be particularly helpful during the summer recess period when MPs may be more able to visit a local pharmacy in their constituency.

Community Pharmacy England will also be making a submission to Lord Darzi who Wes Streeting has commissioned to carry out a review of the state of the NHS.

We have also been continuing dialogue with think tanks, patient groups and wider stakeholders with the aims of further promoting the Pharmacy First service to the public, and building wider support for community pharmacy. At the upcoming Labour Party Conference we are hosting a fringe event titled proactive and patient-centred: a neighbourhood health system close enough to care alongside The King’s Fund and Reform think tank. The Health Secretary has been invited to speak at the event.

Community Pharmacy England Chief Executive Janet Morrison said:

“Whilst Ministers have recognised the urgent need to re-commence negotiations, we believe that the Department of Health and NHS England are unlikely to be in a position to re-engage with Community Pharmacy England until further discussions with HM Treasury have concluded. Our expectation is that this will now not be before September.

This is going to be extremely difficult for pharmacy owners and their teams, with many businesses struggling to keep afloat. The impact on patients and the wider NHS should pharmacy businesses be allowed to collapse would be catastrophic, and we are continuing to warn Government and the NHS of those risks and of the urgent need to intervene.

Work to highlight the critical state that community pharmacies are in is ongoing, both in our discussions with officials and through our wider political influencing programme. LPCs and pharmacy owners are encouraged to support this work by writing to MPs using our updated toolkit.”