The government has announced a prescription charge freeze for the first time in three years.

The single prescription charge will remain at £9.90, saving patients around £18m in the year 2025 to 2026. Three-month and annual prescriptions prepayment certificates will also be frozen. Individuals who are already exempt from paying the charge will continue to be so.

The prescription charge freeze builds on wider government action to tackle the cost of living crisis, aimed at easing financial pressures on families across the country.

Wes Streeting, secretary of state for health and social care, said, “This government’s ‘Plan for Change’ will always put working people first, and our moves today to freeze prescription charges will put money back into the pockets of millions of patients.

“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.

“We made the difficult but necessary choices at the budget to fund moves like this and change our NHS so it can once again be there for you when you need it.”

The announcement follows news of the government agreeing funding with Community Pharmacy England worth an extra £617m over two years.

The investment comes alongside reforms to deliver other patient benefits, as part of the government’s agenda to shift the focus of care from hospitals into the community, so that people can more easily access care and support on their high streets.

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