Contractual
Pharmacy owners can now watch a recording of Community Pharmacy England’s recent online workshop to help with the completion of the Data Security and Protection Toolkit for 2025. Around 500 people registered for the webinar held earlier this week, which aimed to support community pharmacy owners to make their toolkit submission. Feedback so far indicates that nine in ten said they would recommend the workshop to others. During the webinar, representatives from Community Pharmacy England and NHS England’s DSPTK team provided guidance on completing the Toolkit questions, gave a demonstration of how to use and navigate the Toolkit, and answered viewers’ questions on how to make the data security declaration. With pharmacy owners required to finalise their pharmacy’s Data Security and Protection Toolkit submission by 30th June 2025, watching this workshop offers the perfect opportunity to make good headway in its completion. Anyone who was unable to attend the live event, or if you just want to re-watch, the recorded version is now available via the link below: Click here to view an on-demand version of the webinar Related resources Our website section: Data Security and Protection Toolkit – A one-stop shop for all the information, guidance and resources needed to complete the Toolkit.
The new application route The new application route – which is available in addition to the pre-existing route – has a single regulatory test. When deciding an application for rearranging core opening hours, the ICB must: ‘… seek to ensure that the people who are accustomed to accessing pharmaceutical services at the pharmacy premises are likely to benefit from the changes because, overall, they would be more likely to access those services at those premises during the proposed core opening hours than during the existing core opening hours.’ (26(2ZB)) The new application route considers the needs of people who are accustomed to accessing pharmacy services at the applicant’s pharmacy, rather than, as in the existing application route, the needs of people (and the opening of other pharmacies) in the wider area around the pharmacy. Applicants seeking to rearrange their core opening hours must state which application route they are relying on, the new one (para 26(2ZB)) or the existing one (para 24(1)). More information about the new and existing application routes can be found in our Briefing 013/25: Regulatory Changes in June 2025 – DSPs, Opening Hours, etc. Business needs As part of the national negotiations, it was also agreed that for both new and existing applications, ICBs would be required: The Pharmacy Manual (Chapter 36) will be amended to reflect these changes, and in the meantime, NHS England has confirmed, from today (23 June), ICBs should apply this. Applications forms The new application for rearranging core opening hours is available here, it will be available on the NHS website in due course. Pharmacy opening hours are part of pharmacies’ Terms of Service for providing NHS pharmaceutical services. Most pharmacies must open for 40 core contractual hours (this includes Distance Selling Premises (DSP) pharmacies). Some pharmacies must open between 72-100 core contractual hours (called 100-hour pharmacies for those that have opened under the former exemption from the control of entry test). All pharmacies may open for additional supplementary hours. Pharmacies are not required to open (to provide core contractual hours) on, for example, Bank holidays but some may be directed by the NHS to provide Bank holiday opening hours. On occasion, pharmacies may have to close. This may be a planned temporary closure, for example, for the refurbishment of the premises, or an unplanned temporary closure, if, for example, that morning the pharmacist reports they are ill and unable to work. https://cpe.org.uk/quality-and-regulations/terms-of-service/opening-hours/
Over 85% of community pharmacy owners are still yet to complete the 2025/26 Community Pharmacy Assurance Framework (CPAF) screening questionnaire. We encourage pharmacy owners who have not yet responded to the questionnaire to ensure they do so by Thursday, 31st July 2025. As a result of NHS regulations introduced at the end of 2020, completion of CPAF is now a requirement of the Terms of Service. Therefore, pharmacy owners must complete the screening questionnaire and, if required, the full CPAF questionnaire. Community Pharmacy England recommends that pharmacy owners complete the questionnaire in good time before the deadline. It should only take approximately 10-20 minutes to complete. The short screening questionnaire consists of 10 questions. Pharmacy owners who use the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) Manage Your Service (MYS) portal will be required to complete the questionnaire on the portal. Those who are not yet signed up for MYS will be able to complete the questionnaire online. The questions are available on the NHSBSA website. We have had a number of queries relating to Question 11 of the screening questionnaire, regarding safeguarding training. To clarify: Once the screening questionnaires have been completed, NHS England will then select a small number of pharmacies for a monitoring visit and/or to complete the full CPAF questionnaire. Community pharmacies should receive information and instructions on how to complete the screening questionnaire either via email from the NHSBSA or from their own Head Office. Pharmacy owners are advised to contact NHSBSA by emailing [email protected] if they have not received details of the questionnaire, or if they have any problems or queries completing the questionnaire.THIS CONTENT HAS NOW EXPIRED