Chancellor freezes charges to keep prescriptions under a tenner

The Chancellor has announced that NHS prescription charges will remain frozen next year, which will help millions of hard-working people with the cost of living and ensure patients have access to the care they need.

Ahead of the Budget, Rachel Reeves confirmed that the cost of a single prescription will be frozen at £9.90 – saving patients around £12 million next year.  

This will not only continue to support patients with the cost of living but also help ensure that no patient places themselves at risk by not taking their medication due to the cost of picking it up. 

It comes as the Chancellor sets out the fair choices she will take at the Budget to deliver on the public's priorities to cut NHS waiting lists, cut national debt and cut the cost of living.
 
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said: “No one should put their health at risk because they can’t afford their medication, and as the cost of living still puts pressure on households I’m extending the cash freeze on prescription charges. 

“Since taking office, we’ve been committed to fixing the NHS, and waiting lists are down by 230,000 over the past year. At next week’s Budget I will take the fair choices to deliver what matters most to the country: cutting waiting lists, cutting the cost of living and cutting the national debt” 
 
At last year’s Budget, the Chancellor took action to freeze NHS prescription charges for the first time in three years and in her efforts to ease the cost of living, this year the Chancellor has decided to extend the freeze over the next year.  

Around 89% of prescriptions in England are already dispensed free of charge to children, over-60s, pregnant women, and those with certain medical conditions.

Three month and annual prescriptions prepayment certificates will also be frozen for 2026/27 keeping costs low for those with a regular need for prescriptions.    

In addition to the freeze on charges, the NHS Low Income Scheme offers help with prescription payments, with free prescriptions for eligible people in certain groups such as pensioners, students, and those who receive state benefits or live in care homes. 

Extending the freeze on prescription costs is part of this Government’s wider action to ease the cost of living, having already rolled out free breakfast clubs, increased the National Living Wage worth an extra £1,400 per year for millions of working people and protected the pensions triple lock.   

For the first time in 15 years. waiting lists have begun to fall through record investment and modernisation. The backlog has been cut by more than 230,000 and the government has met its promise of delivering more than 5 million extra appointments since the election. 

The Budget will aim to deliver on the Government's mandate for change and the priorities of the British people: cutting waiting lists, cutting the national debt and cutting the cost of living, and has been described as "a Budget that builds a fairer, more prosperous Britain with an economy that works for everyone."