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The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is pushing ahead with its plans to implement a new drug tariff from April 2024. However, this move has sparked strong opposition from Community Pharmacy England (CPE), raising concerns about its potential impact on pharmacies and patients. Earlier, it was announced that the April drug tariff will include the new 'Retrospective top-up payment for Concessionary prices, which will be applied automatically for the products listed in Part VIIIE each quarter by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), according to the volume the contractor was paid for. However, CPE argued that the government has imposed these "untested" changes without their agreement, and strongly opposed them stating that "no recovery or downward pressure on margin is acceptable given the financial fragility of community pharmacies." Janet Morrison, chief executive of CPE, has voiced strong opposition to these changes, arguing that "any system expecting pharmacies to dispense at a loss" jeopardises the sector's financial stability and compromises patient care.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has voiced strong opposition to the Environment Agency's (EA) proposals to increase waste charges, set to be implemented in April 2025. The EA launched a consultation on these proposals from 11 November 2024 to 20 January 2025, seeking feedback on new regulatory charges for waste activities, including waste exemptions, a waste crime levy, and adjustments to hourly rates for certain activities. The agency emphasised that these charge proposals are designed to fund regulatory work targeting waste crime. In its response, CPE said that they "strongly disagree" with the proposed registration charge of £56 for waste exemptions, which would apply for a three-year period. The CPE argued that such charges would "put further pressure on a sector that is already at breaking point" and they "have no ability to pass on costs to their NHS patients." "NHS community pharmacies are experiencing significant financial pressures due to chronic government underfunding and the current economic climate," CPE stated.