Parliamentary Question: Community pharmacy funding
An interesting Parliamentary Question asked by Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire), to Stephen Kinnock (the Labour MP for Aberafan Maesteg and the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care). Answer published on 24 February 2026:
‘To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has provided to community pharmacies through the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework in real terms in each year since 2016.’
The answer provided below:
Pharmacy Contractual Framework each year since 2015/16:
| Nominal value (£m) | Gross domestic product deflator at December 2025 | Real terms value 2025/26 prices (£m) | |
| 2015/16 | 2,800 | 72.46 | 3,864 |
| 2016/17 | 2,687 | 73.91 | 3,636 |
| 2017/18 | 2,592 | 74.85 | 3,463 |
| 2018/19 | 2,592 | 76.55 | 3,386 |
| 2019/20 | 2,592 | 78.57 | 3,299 |
| 2020/21 | 2,592 | 82.68 | 3,135 |
| 2021/22 | 2,592 | 82.87 | 3,128 |
| 2022/23 | 2,592 | 88.70 | 2,922 |
| 2023/24 | 2,592 | 93.38 | 2,776 |
| 2024/25 | 2,698 | 97.14 | 2,777 |
| 2025/26 | 3,073 | 100.00 | 3,073 |
Whereas the nominal value may have risen, the real terms value, adjusted for inflation, shows a steady decrease (£791m less in 2025/2026 compared to 2015/2016). Over the same period, Pharmaceutical Journal reported a net loss of 1,479 bricks and mortar pharmacies since March 2016 — 13% of England’s community pharmacy network.
Add to this more recent increases in national insurance contributions for employers, the uplift in costs of the national living wage and local business taxes – all of which have increased the pressure on community pharmacies and other high street businesses.
In its written response, the Government said:
‘In 2025/26, the funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. Additional funding was also made available, for example, for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.’
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