FOI-03899

##Request You asked us: I previously submitted the following FOI request - ref FOI-02908 which you responded to with a number of data sets providing a comprehensive answer. The individual amounts paid to primary care contractors for the provision of NHS dental services in the financial years 2022/23 2023/24 and 2024/25 The individual amounts paid to primary care contractors for the provision of NHS pharmacy services in the financial years 2022/23 2023/24 and 2024/25. My updated request is for you to provide me with this same information for the financial year 2025/26. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 11 June 2026. We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. ##Our response ##Question 1 - The individual amounts paid to primary care contractors for the provision of NHS dental services in the financial years 2025/26 The NHSBSA does hold the requested information; however, we consider this information as exempt from disclosure under section 22 of the FOIA. This provides an exemption from the duty to disclose information where the requested information is intended for future publication. The Information Commissioner’s Office guidance states that “the public authority must, at the time of the request, hold the information and intend that it or “any other person” will publish it in future. This means that it must have a “settled expectation that the information will be published at some future date”. The information is intended for future publication in October 2026. The information will be uploaded to the following web address: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/dental-data/nhs-payments-dentists Section 22 is a class-based, qualified exemption and is subject to the public interest test. This means that not only does the information have to prejudice one of the purposes listed, but before the information can be withheld, the public interest in preventing that prejudice must outweigh the public interest in disclosure. ##Considerations for disclosure: Public accountability. The need for public authorities to be transparent in their dealings. ##Considerations against disclosure: The information is intended for future publication once finalised. The information is currently in draft and therefore subject to change. There is an inherent public interest in not disclosing information which could be misleading to the public and may not accurately reflect the final document. Duplication of effort to respond to FOI requests in addition to preparing for planned publication Misinterpretation of unverified data could lead to additional queries and questions that need to be addressed by the NHSBSA ##Conclusion: We consider that the advantage to releasing this information now (rather than upon the planned publication) is outweighed by the potential prejudice to the completeness and consistency of the data provided. It is in line with accepted practice not to publish data prior to the planned publication date. This allows for verification of the data and provides a single comprehensive, consistent and accessible source of information. Please see the following link to view the section 22 in full - Freedom of Information Act 2000 (legislation.gov.uk) ##Question 2 – The individual amounts paid to primary care contractors for the provision of NHS pharmacy services in the financial years 2025/26. Under Section 21 of the FOIA we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. The information you requested is available on the NHSBSA website at the following links. April 2025 to July 2025: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03295 August 2025: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03375 September 2025 to October 2025: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03529 January 2026 to March 2026: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03877 Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21 ##Question 2 – November 2025 to December 2025 I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information is attached. Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data. NHS Prescription Services process prescriptions for pharmacy contractors, appliance contractors, dispensing doctors and personal administration with information then used to make payments to pharmacists and appliance contractors in England for prescriptions dispensed in primary care settings (other arrangements are in place for making payments to dispensing doctors and personal administration). This involves processing over 1 billion prescription items and payments totalling over £9 billion each year. The information gathered from this process is then used to provide information on costs and trends in prescribing in England and Wales to over 25,000 registered NHS and Department of Health and Social Care users. ##Data source Source System – Insight Data Warehouse. ##Time period November and December 2025 - Pharmacy data ##This dataset FOI 03899 has 2 files. This report consists of a management information file detailing monthly community pharmacy payment by type of payment and contractor account. Payments include all drug costs, fees, patient charges, and locally authorised payments. Other details such as the numbers of items dispensed and patient charges collected are also included. The management information file reflects the contractor's payment and prescription data associated with the Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) structure at the relevant payment date. ##Disclosure Control The data in columns ‘METHADONE PAYMENT FEE’ and ‘CONTROLLED DRUGS FEE VALUE’ within the Pharmacy dataset have been removed following Information Governance policy. Note- for further information relating to the payments included within this Data Dictionary, please consult the NHS Business Services Authority's Electronic Drug Tariff and NHS Prescription Services payment information (Local Authorised Payments National Menu) : https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/pharmacies-gp-practices-and-appliance-contractors/drug-tariff https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/pharmacies-gp-practices-and-appliance-contractors/dispensing-contractors-information/payment-information ##Data Queries Please contact [email protected] ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data. ##Reusing the data and copyright If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact [email protected] . This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented. The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “Data Warehouse, NHSBSA Copyright 2026”. Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence. Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.