Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to simplify funding streams for general practice.
NHS England is responsible for payments to general practices for the provision of National Health Service primary medical services. The majority of general practitioner practices operate under General Medical Service (GMS) contract arrangements. Typically, at least half of the money that a GMS practice receives is in the form of the ‘global sum’, derived through the Carr-Hill Formula.
NHS England is working with the British Medical Association to review the Carr-Hill funding formula for general practice and has begun a review of the Quality and Outcomes Framework. Implementation of any changes will need careful planning so that they do not threaten stability or cause financial uncertainty for practices.