NHS England’s updates to the GP contract for 2025/26 have been published, with an additional £889 million named as the “biggest increase in investment into general practice in over a decade”, requirements for practices to enable functionality in GP Connect, and a reduction in “bureaucracy” for practices.
The £889 million increase in investment will be implemented across the core practice contract and the Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service (DES), which NHSE states “will take the combined total estimated contract value from £12,287 million in 2024/25 to £13,176 million in 2025/26”.
Practices will also be able to take part in an “enhanced service for advice and guidance” which NHSE estimates is worth up to £80 million, to support the move to care in community settings.
On QOF, the update shares the permanent removal of 32 QOF indicators which were income protected in 2024/25, adding: “This equates to 212 QOF points worth c.£298m in 2025/26.” A further 71 points, worth around £100 million, will be “removed outright” and invested into Global Sum, childhood vaccinations and locum reimbursement rates; whilst the remaining 141 QOF points, worth £198 million, will be targeted towards cardiovascular disease prevention “to support the government’s ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease or stroke by 25 percent within a decade”.
The update highlights the importance of ending the “8am scramble”, adding a requirement for practices to keep online consultations tools “open for the duration of core hours” by 1 October 2025 for non-urgent appointment requests, medication queries, and admin requests. By the same date, practices will be required to have enabled functionality in GP Connect to allow patients to view their care records, and to offer community pharmacy teams to send consultation summaries into the GP practice workflow, aiming to “reduce the admin burden for general practice teams”.
Along with these changes, NHSE also announces modifications to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) to “increase in flexibility to support PCNs to respond to their local workforce requirements”, creating a “single pot for reimbursement of patient facing staff costs”. The salary element of the maximum reimbursement amount for PCNs to claim for GPs will be increased from £73,113 in 2024/25 to £82,418, in a move to support recruitment of GPs via the ARRS.
Amanda Doyle, NHSE’s national director for primary care and community services, said that the latest contract “sets out the next steps to put the family doctor at the heart of the shift to a neighbourhood health service”, noting specifically the delivery on “priorities that matter most to patients and general practice teams” including additional funding and flexibility to “recruit more staff”. and “improved digital access for patients”.
Digital primary care from across the NHS
Last month, NHS Devon ICB shared an update on its Primary Care Access Recovery Plan, highlighting “good progress” on delivery, a focus on tackling variation, and a potential saving of £19 million through digital advancements. Somerset ICB also highlighted progress on its Recovering Access to Primary Care programme, noting digital progress against key deliverables ahead of the conclusion of the programme in March 2025.
HTN also announced the finalists in its Primary Care Awards, showcasing innovations, solutions, case studies, collaborations and projects helping shape future services and systems across health and care.
North West London ICS’s latest board meeting shared insights into the developments in the region, including challenges around cyber resilience, digital in primary care, an update on its digital programmes and progress towards integrated neighbourhood teams.
A feature article from Accurx looked at better ways of managing demand to beat the 8am rush and offer an improved experience for patients and clinicians alike.
