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Community Pharmacy England has said it hopes to share an announcement regarding ongoing 2026-27 funding talks “in the coming weeks”. 

In a report on its April committee meeting, CPE said there was an “in-depth briefing on the detail of the latest offer from Government and the NHS – highlighting where progress has been made in response to the negotiating team’s arguments” on key demands around margin delivery, fees, reimbursement and the need for a “multi-year roadmap” for the sector. 

The negotiator added that committee members “were brought up to speed on amendments to the original proposals for funding, service development and regulatory changes, with detail on how the NT had negotiated these changes”.

“In-depth discussions enabled further exploration of the proposals and related issues in more detail, helping members to consider together what is, or isn’t, favourable to the sector. 

“Consideration was also given to the plan of action post-negotiations, and the work programme that will be needed to resolve key challenges with DHSC/NHSE before the next round of negotiations and in the longer term.”

CPE acknowledged that the ongoing lack of clarity is “incredibly frustrating” for pharmacy contractors and “makes managing finances all the more difficult”.  

CPE chief Janet Morrison said: “This was an incredibly important committee meeting as we make progress through complex CPCF negotiations, allowing all committee members to understand in-depth the details of the current offer and their implications, to reflect on where we are relative to our negotiating positions, and to reaffirm our priorities.  

“Pharmacy owners are rightly very anxious for news about their futures, and we hope that CPCF news will be available in the coming weeks."