As reported by BMA, the British Medical Association has endorsed major changes to GP contracts, including a funding boost and staffing support, but insists on further negotiations
The British Medical Association (BMA) has endorsed proposed reforms to GP contracts in England, describing them as a significant step toward restoring general practice services.
Following an emergency meeting, members of the BMA’s GPs Committee for England accepted revisions to the 2025/26 national GP practice and Primary Care Network (PCN) contracts. The proposals include an £889 million funding uplift to the General Medical Services (GMS) contract, in addition to £433 million already invested in autumn 2024 – representing a 7.2% increase in contract funding.
The additional funding aims to help practices manage rising costs, including staff wages, premises expenses, and patient list-size growth. It will also support improvements to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), which allows GP practices to hire healthcare professionals. Under the reforms, newly qualified GPs and practice nurses will be included in the scheme, with the cap on the number of GPs eligible for funding removed.
Further changes include an increase in the Item of Service (IoS) fee for routine childhood vaccinations and £80 million in additional funding to support practices making advice and guidance requests to hospital specialists before referring patients for ongoing care.
However, the BMA’s support is contingent on the government committing to a full renegotiation of the national GP contract during this Parliament. The committee has requested written confirmation of this commitment by 19 March – ahead of the Special LMC Conference – to formally pause the long-running dispute between GPs and the government, which began in March 2024.
A BMA spokesperson said the reforms represent “a crucial step towards recovery” but emphasised that long-term negotiations are essential to fully address the pressures facing general practice.
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