For the past five years, the headline fee for membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has remained at £192 per year. The RPS Assembly has decided that, to continue to provide and develop the excellent services that members tell us they want from the Society, a moderate increase in membership fees is necessary.
Consequently, the Assembly has agreed that in 2016 the headline RPS membership fee will rise from £192 to £198 per year. This represents a 3.1% rise and is the first increase in fees since the RPS was separated from the regulatory body in 2010. Members who pay by direct debit will see a 2.7% increase. Preregistration pharmacists, retired members and those on sick leave and maternity leave who pay by direct debit will see a fee rise of just 1.5%. The increase is well below the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rise of 7.3% since 2011.
The Assembly also agreed that any changes to the fees for 2017 and subsequent years will be based on the CPI calculated in June and brought to the Assembly each July for ratification.
RPS president Ash Soni said: “The RPS Assembly thought long and hard about a fee increase at this time and we have agreed an increase that we feel accurately reflects the current value of RPS membership. I hope pharmacists will recognise this and continue to support their professional body through continued membership. We understand the pressures that pharmacists are under and want to ensure we can support them as professionals to be truly valued.”
The new membership subscriptions that will take effect on 1 January 2016 are detailed in schedule 1 below. Any member who wishes to comment to the Assembly on the fee changes are asked to do so by Wednesday 21 October 2015; comments should be sent to president@rpharms.com.
Schedule 1
Membership fees 2016
| Standard Fees | Fee | Reduced fee for annual direct debit |
|---|---|---|
Fellow, member, pharmaceutical scientist, associate | £198 | £187 |
Preregistration associate | £72 | £68 |
| Discounted fees | Fee | Reduced fee for annual direct debit |
|---|---|---|
Member — first year after qualification | £99 | £93 |
Member — second year after qualification | £148 | £140 |
Fellow, member, pharmaceutical scientist, associate:
|
£72 £72 £72 £72 |
£68 £68 £68 £68 |
Overseas member | £104 | £98 |
Student studying for GB pharmacy degree | £0 | £0 |
Student studying for non-GB pharmacy degree | £50 | £48 |
Honorary Fellow, honorary member | £0 | £0 |