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The newly-formed All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Life Sciences has written to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Jane Reeves, urging her to protect and promote the life sciences sector in the government's first Budget. The group, which includes MPs and peers, convened for its first meeting in Parliament on Tuesday (15 October) to discuss the steps the Labour government should take to ensure that the UK remains a global leader in life sciences research and commercialisation. Following the meeting, the group sent a letter to the Chancellor, expressing their support for the Labour Party's life sciences strategy, A Prescription for Growth, which was published before the general election. They urged the Chancellor to maintain government funding for life sciences research and manufacturing, as well as the tax reliefs that encourage investment, in the Budget set for 30 October. Kit Malthouse MP, chair of the APPG, emphasised the potential of the life sciences sector, saying, "The Life Sciences sector holds out an incredible promise that the UK can be at the forefront of humanity's battle with disease and at the same time build a 21st century knowledge-based economy.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has expressed dissatisfaction with the spring budget as it brings "no specific relief" for the community pharmacy sector, which is grappling with "soaring costs and severe medicine supply and pricing issues." UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced his Spring Budget on Wednesday, confirming an extra £2.5 billion in day-to-day revenue funding for the NHS in England in 2024-25 and a new NHS productivity plan worth £3.4bn to modernise IT systems. The Chancellor said that day-to-day spending would grow by 1 per cent per year on average in real terms, and the productivity plan is estimated to "unlock £35 billion worth of savings" from 2025-26 to 2029-30. However, CPE chief executive, Janet Morrison commented that the budget has "no obvious good news" for community pharmacies who need "urgent relief from the ongoing unsustainable funding and operational pressures" they are facing. Morrison described the investment in Pharmacy First as "the most significant investment in pharmacies in a decade", but emphasised the need for further support to stabilise the sector and its core contractual arrangements.

The new Labour government's first budget has not been well received by community pharmacies, who are 'deeply worried' about the increase in National Insurance and the national living wage. They have also voiced their dissatisfaction with the Autumn Budget 2024 for lacking measures to address pharmacy closures. Commenting on the Chancellor's Budget, Paul Rees, CEO of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said: "Millions of people who depend on local pharmacies will be holding their breath today, hoping that the £22.6bn increase in health spending announced by the Chancellor will include money to stem the devastating closure of local health services in the past decade. "There's absolutely no mention in the Budget of action to halt the closure of our vital NHS pharmacy network, which has been shrinking at the rate of seven a week as pharmacies are forced to close through underfunding." According to the NPA, around 700 pharmacies have shut since just the start of 2022 due to the impact of a 40 per cent cut to funding coupled with rising demand.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, presented the Labour government 's Autumn Budget 2024 in the House of Commons on Wednesday, describing it as "a Budget to fix the foundations of the economy and deliver change by protecting working people, fixing the NHS and rebuilding Britain." The Budget, the first from a Labour government in 14 years, introduces some significant measures to boost small businesses and deliver crucial support to the NHS amid challenging economic conditions. In a move to support businesses, the government has announced a fairer business rates system by permanently lowering the business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties from 2026-27. Additionally, £1.9 billion has been allocated to support small businesses and the high street in 2025-26, including freezing the small business multiplier and providing a 40% relief on RHL property bills, up to a £110,000 cash cap. To repair the public finances and raise funding for public services, the government has decided to increase the employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) rate by 1.2 percentage points to 15%, with effect from 6 April 2025.