The NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) analyses evidence provided by relevant organisations and makes recommendations on the pay of NHS staff paid under Agenda for Change in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The NHSPRB provides independent advice on the pay of NHS staff to the:
- Prime Minister
- Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
- First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in Wales
- First Minister, Deputy First Minister and Minister of Health in Northern Ireland.
As part of their call for evidence, NHSPRB has now received submissions from both HM Government and NHS Employers as well as those representing NHS staff.
Some media reports have focused on the government’s evidence, which said:
“DHSC have developed financial and delivery plans which currently allow for a pay uplift of 2.5% without having to make trade-offs against headline government health commitments. Should the independent pay review bodies recommend an award above this level, we would need to consider whether and how this could be made affordable from within existing DHSC budgets”
However, it is important to note that the government’s statement on affordability is not necessarily the same as their final proposal, and under the pay review process, neither is it an “offer”. The process is that the NHSPRB should also consider economic and other evidence before making recommendations on what they believe should happen to pay bands. Only then will we learn what the governments propose to do after they have considered the NHSPRB recommendation and any other circumstances.
PDA members should be aware that, if that figure were to be less than inflation, it would mean real terms cuts to the pay of NHS employed pharmacists, including those in Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) and NHS England itself, who are already facing the risk of redundancy due to restructures, in addition to the everyday demands of the pharmacist role. Even the lowest measure of inflation (CPI) is currently running at 3.8% (latest figure published by ONS for September 2025).
Health unions, including the PDA, have already told the UK government that they have lost confidence in the pay review body process and are encouraging a return to pay negotiations, as has already happened in Scotland, where the second year of a two-year negotiated deal will give pharmacists and other NHS employees an increase of at least 3.75% for 2026-27.
Once the government’s formal reaction to the eventual NHSPRB recommendation is clear, the PDA will formally be asking members employed in the NHS what response they wish to make. If this means going into dispute alongside other health unions, the greater the professional unity that exists, the stronger collective position pharmacists will have. Those pharmacists who are not yet union members are therefore encouraged to join the PDA without delay. All members are encouraged to then respond to surveys and/or ballots that may be issued to gauge pharmacists’ opinion in due course, so that the PDA can represent the position of the majority and the strength of that mandate.
In the meantime, existing PDA members should continue to share their views on pay and workload with their local workplace PDA rep. If there is no local PDA rep yet in place at an employer, local members are encouraged to step forward and fill the role as soon as they are able.
Pharmacists who are interested in becoming a PDA Rep, can email [email protected]. Free training and support will be provided.
Get involved
Learn more
- The Department of Health and Social Care’s written evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body for the pay round 2026 to 2027
- NHS Employers’ evidence to the NHS PRB 2026/27
Not yet a PDA member?
If you have not yet joined the PDA, we encourage you to join today and ask your colleagues to do the same.
Membership is FREE to pharmacy students, trainee pharmacists and for the first three months of being newly qualified.
Read about our key member benefits here.