In receipt of an ‘initial’ funding offer, CPE said it had met on February 5 and 6 to establish its “key issues, priorities and red lines”.
It said it was “fully aware of the sector’s urgent need to resolve negotiations as robustly and speedily as possible” and was “focused on securing the best outcomes for pharmacy owners” as “in-depth negotiations with DHSC and NHS England” continue.
It also said it had considered the draft findings of the NHSE economic review into pharmacy during the meeting, and said it had submitted further comments to the report’s authors.
Last week, the IPA and NPA both demanded transparency into its findings and said it should be published immediately.
Read more: Pharmacy leaders demand DH ‘immediately’ publish economic analysis
Community Pharmacy England CEO Janet Morrisons acknowledged it was an “extremely stressful and worrying time for all pharmacy owners”.
But she said due to the government’s “strict confidentiality requirements” she was “unable to say anything further about the negotiations, or to offer any running commentary, until an announcement is made.
“As with every negotiation, we are working to secure the best possible outcome for the sector and after detailed negotiations the full Committee will decide whether to accept or reject the final offer.
Read more: IN FULL: CPE sets out April to July ‘timeframe’ to deliver new contract
“We will announce the outcome – and our analysis of what it means – as soon as possible once negotiations conclude.”
Meanwhile CPE said it had approved a “2% uplift in the levy collected from LPCs from April 2025″ which it said is “largely expected to be covered from LPC reserves.”
