Proposed contract reforms representing a steps toward restoring general practice in England, have been backed by the BMA.

Members of the association’s GPs committee for England have accepted proposals that will see important revisions made to the 2025/26 GP and PCN (primary care networks) contracts, following an emergency meeting today.

The proposals, which the BMA said represents ‘a crucial step towards recovery’ for GPs in England, includes an £889m uplift in funding for the general medical services contract.

The increase, which is in addition to a £433m investment applied to the contract last autumn, will provide a 7.2 per cent cash growth in contract funding, helping to fund a range of initiatives to support practices.

These include enhancements to the ARRS (additional role reimbursement scheme) which will see GPs and practice nurses included within the main scheme, and the removal of the cap on the number of GPs that can be employed through ARRS.

Premises costs

The uplift will also provide national funding to help practices meet the financial demands posed by costs such as premises expenses and patient list growth.

The proposed changes will also see an increase in the IoS (Item of Service) fee for routine childhood vaccinations, and an additional £80m investment to compensate practices making advice and guidance requests to hospitals ahead of referring a patient.

Having agreed in principle to accept the proposed changes to the 2025/26 GP GMS contract, GPC England has stipulated that the Government must commit to a full renegotiation of the new national contract during this Parliament.

Written confirmation of this commitment must be provided to the committee ahead of the Special LMC Conference on 19 March before the new terms can be formally accepted.

Speaking about the decision to endorse the proposals, GPC England chair Katie Bramall-Stainer described the terms as a step towards arresting and reversing the effects of years of underinvestment, which have seen many practices forced to close.

She said: ‘It is the BMA and GPCE’s job to unite the profession, speak up for GPs, and do what we can to protect the future of the profession. After 15 years of erosion to the value of practice contracts these proposed changes mark a turning point.

‘This agreed uplift to our annual contract sees the first step on the road to recovery of rebuilding general practice across England. However, GPCE has been clear, we have shown that we want to work in good faith with this Government and build on this new beginning – what we now need is certainty about our collective future.

‘The Government must now recognise the imperative to deliver a new contract within the current Parliament for meaningful reform and vital investment. Only then can we keep the front door of our NHS open, provide timely patient care, and alleviate pressure across our entire health service. ’ 

Strike threat

After rejecting the then proposed terms of their 2024/25 GMS contract in March last year, GPs in England subsequently backed calls to take collective action following a ballot in August 2024.

The decision to back these latest proposed terms comes following six weeks of intense negotiations between the association and the Government and brings to an end GPCE’s dispute with the Government and NHS England.

In doing so, however, the BMA has urged GPs to remain ‘organised and united’ in the ongoing struggle to ensure a full recovery for general practice, and ahead of the Government’s three-year comprehensive spending review.

Dr Bramall-Stainer added that she and GPs across England now hoped that the Government would respond to this ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to deliver meaningful investment and reform to general practice.

She said: ‘We hope the Government seizes this once in a generation opportunity and repays the trust we are placing in them to do the right thing by England’s GPs, and by their patients.  

‘Of course, a single set of changes won’t reverse over a decade’s starvation of general practice, but it’s within the Government’s gift to deliver on a new contract that will secure the longer-term future of general practice.’