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GPs are set to receive a £485 million uplift to their contract for 2026/27, bringing it up to a total of £13,863 million, according to details published today (February 25). This represents an increase of 3.6%, or 1.4% in real terms. 

Commenting on the announcement, Henry Gregg, Chief Executive of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said: "It's disappointing to see a formal contract offer announced for GP colleagues before the government have even begun consultations for community pharmacies.

"With just 37 days to go to the start of April and the new financial year, the clock is ticking. Pharmacies are still left in the dark as to how they will meet looming cost increases being imposed on them.

"As equal members of the primary care family, they need certainty so they can plan and invest for the year ahead to deliver vital services for their patients." 

In answer to a parliamentary question yesterday (February 24) from Helen Morgan MP, the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, in which she asked how much funding his Department had provided to community pharmacies since 2016, Health minister, Stephen Kinnock, provided data that showed that in real terms, funding in 2015/16 was £3,764 million, and had since continually fallen, reaching its lowest level of £2,776 million in 2023/24, and only increasing in 2025/26 to £3,073 million (see full details in the table below).

Table 1: real terms pharmacy funding since 2015/16

Commenting on the figures, Malcolm Harrison, Company Chemists' Association (CCA) Chief Executive, said: “We welcome the minister’s finding that the sector is still significantly underfunded, despite the changes made a year ago.

"The Government has pledged to stabilise the community pharmacy network. This will only be possible with fair funding which reflects the workload the NHS and patients expect and need. Unfortunately, without action, patients will see further pharmacy closures and find it harder to access the medicines they need.

"As well as damaging the pharmacy sector, this underfunding significantly limits the NHS’ ability to meet patients’ needs. Pharmacies could release tens of millions of primary care appointments each year, but this is only possible with funding to stabilise the sector, and further investment so patients can access routine primary care from pharmacies closer to their homes and places of work.

Helen Morgan MP said: “Pharmacies play a crucial role by reducing the pressure on overcrowded hospitals and GP surgeries. If we continue to underfund them, we risk putting hospitals already on the brink under even more pressure, leaving many patients to suffer unnecessarily.

"Without additional funding, more pharmacies will close – affecting rural, coastal and deprived communities the hardest – where they are most needed.

"With so many pharmacies already having gone to the wall and with many more at risk of closure, the Government needs to change course. That means reversing the brutal cuts to pharmacies under the Conservatives and exempting pharmacies from the government’s disastrous jobs tax to prevent any future surge in closures."