Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the financial ability of GPs to deliver the five required service specifications in the enhanced service contract for 2020-21.

The future vision for general practice is one where patients, depending on their requirements, will be able to choose from a range of specialists in a primary care multi-disciplinary team. This team would include highly skilled nurses, paramedics, occupational therapists, dietitians and other roles, able to provide personalised care to patients. The multi-disciplinary nature of these teams will be valuable in delivering the service specifications.

Through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, Primary Care Networks (PCNs) will be guaranteed funding for 26,000 additional staff, such as physiotherapists and clinical pharmacists, by 2023/24. The roles will be reimbursed at 100%, further supporting PCNs to undertake recruitment or engagement of the roles. Funding entitlements are £430 million in 2020/21 and £1,412 million in 2023/24. Funding is also available through the Investment and Impact Fund which rewards PCNs for good performance against eight indicators, including flu vaccination for over 65s, health checks for people with a learning disability, and effective prescribing. The fund will be worth £40.5 million in 2020/21, increasing to £150 million in 2021/22, £225 million in 2022/23 and £300 million in 2023/24.