Contractors in Scotland are to receive a payment amounting to 2.5 per cent of the value of items they dispensed in July this year, the Scottish Government has said.

This is part of an ongoing effort to ensure the sector receives its guaranteed income for 2020-21.

In a Government circular issued last Friday, interim chief pharmaceutical officer Alison Strath announced the payment, which is “calculated as a percentage of [eligible contractors’] Part 7 non-ZD gross ingredient cost” for the month of July. It will be paid to contractors at the end of October.

Eligibility for the payment is to be on the pharmaceutical list on any day in that month and to have a part 7 non-ZD gross ingredient cost paid for that dispensing month by Practitioner Services.

This follows a September circular informing contractors they would receive a payment worth 6.9 per cent of what they dispensed in April and 7.1 per cent of what they dispensed in May and June.

The Scottish Government says it will continue to monitor the delivery of guaranteed income for the rest of the year and that any further payments will be made a month after the initial payment for a given dispensing month.