Responding to the NHS England letter sent to GP practices today outlining the 2026/27 GP contract changes Andy Pow, adviser to the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants, said:
‘A cash uplift of 3.6% is unlikely to leave practices with a significant funding increase for the year ahead.
‘The 2.5% pay assumption looks low, compared with a rise in the national minimum wage of 4.1% and the Agenda for Change staff pay increase of 3.3%. Consumer price inflation remains at 3% for other costs. As in previous years a further uplift may arise once the DDRB publishes its review.’
While practices will effectively tread water financially with the 3.6% cash uplift, AISMA accountants say the biggest potential problem highlighted in the letter is the shift of £292 million of existing Capacity and Access funding from PCN level to practice-based reimbursement for GP time.
‘This may appear a good thing at a headline level by expanding the number of reimbursed GP roles,’ said Mr Pow. ‘However, the reality is that practices are already using this funding at practice level in an unrestricted way. Ringfencing the money is going to cause problems for practices.’
He added that PCNs and Federations currently using the Capacity and Access Payment at scale level will now need to re-think.
PCNs may also now need to re-structure to align with neighbourhood footprints, he said, paving the way for the new neighbourhood contracts. ‘However, the delay in releasing any details about the neighbourhood contracts will exacerbate the uncertainty around funding flows at both practice and PCN level.’
He continued: ‘The changes announced today are unlikely to resolve any of the uncertainty in general practice coming out of the 10 year plan, nor provide it with any substantial uplift in funding to develop services.’
While welcoming the change to allow PCN ARRS funds to employ a wider number of GPs, Mr Pow said that without extra funding the current GP recruitment issue will remain unresolved.