May 29th 2026

By Ailsa Colquhoun

22 per cent margin uplift secured in new Tariff deal

Permitted retained margin will be uplifted by 22 per cent from June, following agreement of a new £340 million deal community pharmacy contract for 2026-27.

The increase in margin, which will be delivered through the Tariff and which will benefit dispensing GPs, adds £200m to the permitted retained margin, taking it to £1.1 billion.

In addition, dispensing GPs will benefit from the ​agreed write-off of net over-delivery of contract funding (margin) earned up to the end of 2025/26 – worth up to £239m.

Also in the agreement, pharmacists will see the Single Activity Fee increase by 6p to £1.52.

Other key points include: ​

• Independent prescribing to be added to Pharmacy First and Pharmacy Contraception Service in the autumn​
• £20m Pharmacy Quality Scheme with 80% Aspiration payment payable on 1 September​
• Agreement to allow late payment claims for Pharmacy First and New Medicine Service​
• Pharmacies to be able to close for training for up to four hours a month​.

Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said that the funding available will cover growth in activity and inflation in the coming year, but does not make further significant progress towards delivering sustainability to an increasingly unstable sector.