AQW 43556/22-27


Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast


Tabled Date: 31/03/2026
Answered On Date: 09/06/2026
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail any consideration he has given to suspending clawback to support the stabilisation of community pharmacy during the 2026-27 financial year.


Answer:
My Department has a statutory duty to ensure fair, accurate and prompt payment for health service commissioned pharmaceutical services. To provide stability to the community pharmacy sector my Department has invested significantly in recent years. Since April 2018, funding for community pharmacy has increased by almost £60m (57%). This is the highest level of funding to date and is comparable with the rest of the UK.
The Northern Ireland Drug Tariff sets out the remuneration and reimbursement arrangements for medicines supplied by community pharmacies. The prices of medicines fluctuate daily, and with over 45m items dispensed in 2024/25, it is simply not practical to reimburse pharmacies with the exact amount they paid to purchase each item. That means, at an individual prescription level, pharmacies may sometimes receive less than they paid for the product, and at other times more than they paid.
An annual margin survey is completed to ensure that, on average, the reimbursement arrangements for community pharmacy cover the cost of purchasing medicines plus a guaranteed level of margin, meaning that HSC dispensing should be a profitable activity overall. In 2025/26, the guaranteed level of margin for community pharmacy is £34m, an increase from £31.5m in 2024/25.
Discount deduction refers to a mechanism whereby the HSC reduces the amount it reimburses pharmacies for prescriptions, based on the assumption that pharmacies receive discounts from their suppliers. This deduction, also known as ‘discount clawback’, aims to control the profits or ‘margin’ that pharmacies make on HSC-funded medicines. Given that the actual annual margin achieved by community pharmacies in NI has exceeded the guaranteed minimum level in recent years, and coupled with the fact that, unlike other UK regions, any excess in margin is not recouped, the removal of discount clawback is not a consideration at this time.
My Department remains committed to working constructively with the sector to ensure that community pharmacies are supported within a fair and sustainable framework.