Prescription charges in England will be frozen for the first time in over a decade to help the public with cost-of-living pressures, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed.

This means the cost for a prescription in England will remain at £9.35, while a three-month prescription prepayment certificate will stay at £30.25 and a 12-month prescription will remain at £108.10.

This cost of prescriptions usually rises each year to match inflation, but this year – for the first time in 12 years - the cost has been capped to ensure medicines remain ‘accessible’, the DHSC said.

The freeze will mean those in England who pay for their prescriptions will save £17m overall, it explained.

Announcing the cap on prescription fees, Sajid Javid, the health and social care secretary, said: ‘The rise in the cost of living has been unavoidable as we face global challenges and the repercussions of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.

‘Whilst we can’t completely prevent these rises, where we can help - we absolutely will,’ he said.

‘This is why I am freezing prescription charges to help ease some of these pressures and put money back in people’s pockets,’ he added.

The Pharmacist first reported that there would be no increase to the NHS prescription charge this year in March.

But until now, the Government had not confirmed the reasons behind the freeze.

This comes as the Government is considering raising the minimum age for free prescriptions in England, to help the NHS claw back the money it lost from the pandemic.

Health bodies and charities have urged ministers to reconsider the Government’s proposal to scrap free prescriptions for patients aged 60-66 to prevent exacerbating health inequalities and additional costs to local health services.