New Pharmacy Quality Scheme for 2025/26 announced
Full details of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) 2025/26 are now available on our PQS hub page following the announcement on the arrangements for the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) in 2024/25 and 2025/26 earlier today (31st March 2025).
The 2025/26 PQS has £30 million funding available and officially commences on 1st April 2025.
Pharmacy owners will be able to claim an Aspiration payment if they wish to between 9am on 1st May 2025 and 11.59pm on 16th May 2025.
The declaration period for the 2025/26 PQS is between 9am on 2nd February 2026 and 11.59pm on 27th February 2026, with pharmacy owners needing to have evidence to demonstrate meeting the domains that they have claimed for by the end of 31st March 2026.
Community Pharmacy England resources
We are keen to support pharmacy owners and their teams to engage with the PQS 2025/26 and we have published the following resources today:
- Pharmacy Quality Scheme 2025/26 – Important dates for the diary – this provides a list of the important dates for the 2025/26 PQS.
- Summary of the training requirements for the PQS 2025/26 – this provides a summary of the training requirements which are included in the 2025/26 PQS.
- PQS 2025/26 checklist – a checklist of the gateway criterion and quality criteria for the 2025/26 PQS.
- Action plan template 2025/26 (Word) – to support the creation of an action plan required to meet the requirements of the PQS criteria.
- Action plan template 2025/26 (PDF)
- Asthma referrals – this provides pharmacy owners with guidance for the 2025/26 PQS on meeting the following criteria, which are part of the Medicines optimisation domain: use of a spacer in patients aged 5-15 years; and referrals for patients using three or more short-acting bronchodilator inhalers without a corticosteroid inhaler in six months. The resource also contains four annexes which are available below as separate documents:
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- Annex A. Suggested process for referrals for children aged 5-15 years who have been prescribed a press and breathe pressurised MDI for asthma without a spacer
- Annex B. Suggested process for referring patients who have had three or more short acting bronchodilator inhalers dispensed within a six month period
- Annex C. GP practice referral form (Word)
- Annex C. GP practice referral form (PDF)
- Annex D. Data collection form (PDF)
- Training record sheet (Word) – a template which can be used to record details of those staff members who have satisfactorily completed any required training and associated e-assessments (where applicable).
- Training record sheet (PDF)
A Community Pharmacy England PQS 2025/26 Action and Evidence Portfolio Workbook and Digital Guide will also be available soon.
If you have questions on the 2025/26 PQS after reading the PQS hub page and associated resources, these can be emailed to pharmacy.services@cpe.org.uk.
