What is the readiness survey and is it the same as expressing interest?

For many areas, yes — in practice the readiness survey IS how you express interest. It is labelled a 'survey', which is what confuses people, but its purpose is to map which pharmacies have Independent Prescribers and DPPs and can meet the eligibility bar, to inform commissioning. That is the ICB building its list. There isn't necessarily a separate 'official' form coming later that you can wait for, so complete the readiness survey rather than assuming a better opportunity is on its way.

What is the deadline to get on my ICB's list?

Deadlines are set locally and differ by ICB. As an example, Thames Valley ICB opened its readiness survey on 21 August 2026 and set a closing date of Sunday 6 September 2026. Yours may be a different date — the key point is that NHS England told every ICB to have an identify/approve/onboard process in place from August 2026, so a form or survey should exist in your area now. Check your LPC website today, and if you can't find it, email your LPC chief officer.

Pharmacy · Prescribing

Get on Your ICB’s Prescribing List (Before the Deadline)

Q: Is NHS prescribing in community pharmacy opt-in?

Yes. On 31 July 2026 NHS England wrote to every Integrated Care Board (ICB), with around £51,000 each, telling them to build a process to identify, approve and onboard prescribing pharmacies — and to onboard the pharmacies that have expressed an interest. That word matters: onboarding runs from a list of pharmacies that put their hand up. The ICB will not come and find you. If your pharmacy isn't on that list, you are not in the queue to be onboarded, so expressing interest is the first practical step.

Q: What is the 24 hours per week rule?

A common eligibility criterion is a minimum prescriber availability of 24 hours per week, alongside operating prescription management processes in line with national guidance and meeting the ICB's governance requirements. Because the services this covers — Pharmacy First and contraception — are face-to-face consultations, in practice you should read the 24 hours as prescriber time available in the building. The national eligibility detail is still being finalised, so put down the hours your prescribers are physically on site at each pharmacy and check your ICB's specific wording.

Q: What will pharmacists actually be able to prescribe?

For 2026/27 this is prescribing within the existing Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework — Pharmacy First and the Contraception service, with up to five new prescriber-only minor-ailment pathways being considered from autumn 2026, plus prescription management (for example an alternative when an item is out of stock). It is not a licence to prescribe anything; think of it as Pharmacy First with a prescription pad instead of a PGD. The fine detail is still being agreed with DHSC and NHS England, with more to be published before the autumn go-live.

Faheem Ahmed·27 August 2026·8 min read

The 6 September date is my ICB’s. Yours will differ — but the shape of the timeline is national.

Here’s the thing about NHS prescribing coming into community pharmacy this autumn: it’s opt-in. The ICB is not going to knock on your door and sign you up. If you want to deliver prescribing services under the new contract, you have to put your hand up — and there’s a deadline to do it.

The 60-second version — watch it on TikTok.

The short version

It’s opt-in. ICBs onboard the pharmacies that expressed an interest — not everyone.
31 July 2026: NHS England wrote to every ICB (≈£51k each) to build an onboarding process.
The “readiness survey” is the list. Don’t let the word fool you.
The bar: a minimum 24 hours/week of prescriber availability, plus governance.
Deadlines vary by ICB. Mine (Thames Valley) closes Sunday 6 September. Check yours today.

What actually happened on 31 July

On 31 July 2026, NHS England published a professional assurance framework and wrote to every Integrated Care Board (ICB) — with around £51,000 each — telling them to build a process to identify, approve and onboard prescribing pharmacies, and to have that process in place by August. The letter went to the ICBs, not to pharmacies. And it was clear that ICBs onboard the pharmacies that have expressed an interest.

Read that word again: expressed. Onboarding runs from a list. If your pharmacy isn’t on it, you’re not in the queue. This is the single most important thing to understand, and it’s the bit most owners haven’t clocked.

The ICB will not come and find you.

It’s opt-in. No name on the list means no onboarding — however good your pharmacy is.

The “readiness survey” is the list

Here’s where people get tripped up. In many areas the thing you have to complete is labelled a “readiness survey.” That soft word makes it sound optional — a bit of market research you can ignore. It isn’t. Read what it’s actually for: the ICB is mapping which pharmacies have Independent Prescribers (IPs) and DPPs and can meet the eligibility bar, to inform future commissioning. That is the ICB building its list, exactly as NHS England told it to.

There isn’t necessarily a separate, “official” expression-of-interest form coming later that you can sit and wait for. The survey is how you express interest. Don’t let the word fool you — treat it as the list, because that’s what it is.

The eligibility bar: 24 hours a week

Before you fill anything in, check you can clear the bar. A common set of criteria is that a prescribing pharmacy must:

Have a minimum prescriber availability of 24 hours per week;
Operate prescription management processes in line with national guidance and local ICB agreements;
Meet the ICB’s governance requirements for delivering these services.

The 24-hour rule is the one that catches people. A single locum IP doing one afternoon a week won’t clear it. And because the services this unlocks — Pharmacy First and contraception — are face-to-face consultations, in practice you should read those 24 hours as prescriber time available in the building. The national eligibility detail is still being finalised, so on your form, put down the hours your prescribers are physically on site at each pharmacy; if remote gets approved later, you only gain.

What you’ll actually be able to prescribe: for 2026/27 this is prescribing within the existing contract — Pharmacy First and the Contraception service, with up to five new prescriber-only minor-ailment pathways being considered from autumn, plus prescription management (e.g. an alternative when an item is out of stock). It’s Pharmacy First with a prescription pad instead of a PGD — not a licence to prescribe anything. See Prescribing within the CPCF for the detail as it’s published.

What to do today

This is genuinely a today job, not a next-week job:

Step	What to do
1. Find it	Go to your LPC website and search “prescribing” or “readiness survey”. It’s usually on the news page or in the weekly email.
2. Check the bar	Confirm you can offer 24 hrs/week of prescriber cover and name which IPs cover which site. Do one entry per pharmacy.
3. Submit	Complete the form before your ICB’s deadline. No form there? Email your LPC chief officer and ask where it is.

NHS England told every ICB to have this in place from August, so a form or survey should exist in your area now. If you genuinely can’t find it, that email to your chief officer is the fastest route.

It’s not just the form

Getting on the list is step one. Delivering is another thing, and the governance sits behind it. Expect to need policies and procedures in place, regular clinical supervision with a named mentor (monthly is the example), an annual prescribing appraisal, and a portfolio that evidences your prescribing decisions and reflection. If you’re not set up for that yet, start now — it’s the same governance I break down in the prescribing governance rulebook, and it’s what separates being on the list from actually delivering.

No IP? Not prescribing yet? Fix that first

If you haven’t got an Independent Prescriber — or you’re a pharmacist who still hasn’t done your prescribing, or you’re stuck finding a DPP — that’s your real bottleneck, and it’s worth sorting now rather than after the window closes. Every pharmacist is going to feel this, because services increasingly run through prescribers. If that’s you and you want a hand finding a DPP or building the pathway, get in touch. (My take on the DPP funding question is here.)

It’s called a survey. Don’t let the word fool you — it’s the list.

Put your name on it today. The ICBs are being measured on onboarding — they want the list full. But they can only take the names that are already there.

How I can help

If you’re working out whether you’re eligible, getting an IP in place, finding a DPP, or building the governance to actually deliver prescribing safely, that’s the work I do. Let’s get you on the list and ready to deliver.

Work with me

Important: this article is educational commentary and reflects my understanding at the time of writing — it is not legal, financial or professional-regulatory advice. Dates, eligibility criteria and processes are set locally by each ICB and are still being finalised nationally, and the 6 September date is specific to Thames Valley ICB. Always verify the current position and your own deadline with your LPC, your ICB and NHS England before acting.

Frequently asked questions

Is NHS prescribing in community pharmacy opt-in?

Yes. On 31 July 2026 NHS England wrote to every ICB, with around £51,000 each, telling them to build a process to identify, approve and onboard prescribing pharmacies — and to onboard the pharmacies that have expressed an interest. Onboarding runs from a list of pharmacies that put their hand up. If your pharmacy isn’t on it, you’re not in the queue, so expressing interest is the first practical step.

Is the readiness survey the same as expressing interest?

In practice, for many areas, yes — the readiness survey is how you express interest. It’s labelled a “survey”, but its purpose is to map which pharmacies have IPs and DPPs and can meet the bar, to inform commissioning. That’s the ICB building its list. Don’t wait for a separate “official” form that may not come — complete the survey.

What’s the deadline to get on my ICB’s list?

Deadlines are set locally and differ by ICB. As an example, Thames Valley opened its readiness survey on 21 August 2026 and set a closing date of Sunday 6 September 2026. Yours may differ — but NHS England told every ICB to have a process in place from August, so a form should exist now. Check your LPC website today; if you can’t find it, email your LPC chief officer.

What is the 24 hours per week rule?

A common criterion is a minimum prescriber availability of 24 hours per week, plus prescription management to national guidance and meeting ICB governance. Because Pharmacy First and contraception are face-to-face, read the 24 hours as prescriber time in the building. The national detail is still being finalised, so record the hours your prescribers are physically on site and check your ICB’s wording.

What will pharmacists actually be able to prescribe?

For 2026/27 it’s prescribing within the existing contract — Pharmacy First and contraception, with up to five new prescriber-only minor-ailment pathways being considered from autumn, plus prescription management. It’s Pharmacy First with a prescription pad instead of a PGD, not a licence to prescribe anything. The fine detail is still being agreed, with more to be published before go-live.

Faheem Ahmed

Educator, author and consultant across healthcare and education — and the voice behind The Pharmacy Guy. He helps pharmacists and owners get prescribing-ready: eligibility, IPs and DPPs, and the governance to deliver NHS and private prescribing safely.

Watch on YouTube →

Sources & further reading

Comments

Have you found your ICB’s form yet — and what’s your deadline? Drop your ICB below and I’ll help if I can. I read every comment.