Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of stipulating that GP practices only receive the uplift to the Global Sum if that funding is passed onto employees.

General practices (GP) are independent businesses, contracted to provide National Health Services. Every year we consult the profession regarding what services GPs will provide and the funding they will receive in return for these services.

We are investing an additional £1.1 billion in GPs to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26, the biggest cash increase in over a decade.

The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) recommended an uplift of 4% to the pay ranges for salaried GPs, and to GP contractor pay. As with last year, we have accepted the DDRB’s pay recommendation and have uplifted the pay elements of the GP Contract by 4% on a consolidated basis, an increase of 1.2% on top of the 2.8% interim uplift in April.

Funding for these awards will be backdated to April 2025. We expect GP contractors to implement pay rises to other GP staff in line with the uplift in funding they are receiving. As self-employed contractors to the NHS, it is for GPs to determine uplifts in pay for their employees.