The cost of prescriptions and pre-payment certificates (PPCs) in England will be frozen for 2025/26, the Government has announced.

This means that for the rest of this financial year, prescriptions will continue to cost patients £9.90, if they pay for prescriptions.

A three-month PPC will continue to cost £32.05, an HRT PPC will continue to cost £19.80, and a 12-month PPC will continue to cost £114.50, which can be paid in 10 monthly instalments by Direct Debit.

And existing prescription charge exemptions will remain unchanged.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said the move would 'put money back into the pockets of millions of patients.'

He added: 'Fixing our NHS will be a long road – but by working closer with our pharmacies we’re saving money and shifting care to the community where it’s closer to your home.'

Related Article: What more can pharmacies do to address medication non-adherence?

Nick Kaye, chair of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), said it was 'good news for patients and pharmacies that the government has taken the step to freeze the prescription charge today for the first time in three years'.

'However, we've long called for the prescription charge to be scrapped, which acts as a barrier to some patients accessing vital medication and this is something we'd urge the government to work towards.

'As pharmacists, we are health care professionals and have no interest in being tax collectors,' he added.

Janet Morrison, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy England, also referred to community pharmacy teams being 'put in the awkward position of tax collector'.

'Pharmacy teams do what they can to highlight the support available to patients struggling to pay for their medicines, but they are also managing their own cost and capacity pressures. We hope that some of the administrative burden around the collection of the prescription charge will soon be eased by the removal of the requirement for paying patients to sign a declaration as announced in the recent CPCF settlement,' she added.

Tase Oputu, chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in England, said the move was 'a welcome pause in the otherwise relentless rise of the prescription charge for patients'.

'No-one should face a financial barrier to get the medicines they need to stay well.

'Pharmacists tell us they regularly see patients going without essential, life-saving medicines because they can’t afford all the items they’ve been prescribed.

'When patients can’t afford their medicines, their health suffers, leading to more GP appointments, an increased risk of hospital admissions and added pressure on the NHS. Today’s news rightly recognises the key role that medicines play in helping people stay health and shifting care closer to home.

Related Article: Hajj pilgrims and travellers to Saudi Arabia reminded to get meningitis vaccine

'Millions of pounds are spent each year policing a complex prescription charges system that puts avoidable strain on patients and pharmacy teams alike. I hope the Government can build on today’s announcement, listen to the concerns of patients and health professionals, and bring about an end to unaffordable prescription charges in England.'

Jonathan Blades, head of policy at Asthma + Lung UK said the charity knew of 'many people... having to make the unthinkable choice between food and other essentials and paying for prescriptions'.

He said the freezing of prescription charges was 'a welcome first step' that would 'provide some short-term relief for people with lung conditions during the ongoing cost of living crisis'.

But he said prescription charges for medication used to treat respiratory conditions like asthma and COPD should be dropped completely, as they are for other long-term conditions that rely on daily medication, like diabetes and cancer.

'The right to breathe is universal and, without the right medication, respiratory conditions can be life-threatening. It is vital that people living with respiratory conditions are able to take the right medication at the right time. It shouldn’t come down to whether or not they can afford it,' he told The Pharmacist.

The prescription charge has already been frozen for the first two months of this financial year while the government deliberated about whether to increase the cost.

Recent analysis from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) suggested that 2.7 million patients could have saved on their prescription charges by using a PPC.

Related Article: GPhC to stop redacting ethnicity information for Investigating Committee

But it noted that this may be difficult for patients to plan in advance without knowing how long treatment may take.

And Ms Oputu previously told The Pharmacist that while PPCs were useful to reduce the cost of medicines, they were 'not a long-term solution to the fundamental issue that no one should have to pay for essential medicines'.

And she said prescription charges should be removed in England as they are in other parts of the UK.