The health secretary has agreed to delay the requirement for GPs to declare earnings above £150k, the BMA’s outgoing GP Committee chair has announced.
Eligible GPs had been given until 12 November to disclose their earnings from last year if they are £150,000 or more after the annual declaration became a legal requirement in September.
But in a tweet shared last night, Dr Richard Vautrey said it is ‘good to see Sajid Javid has agreed to delay plans for GP earning declaration arrangements’.
‘With GPs facing [the] most intense workload pressures this winter, it’s vital there are no distractions from the priority of providing good patient care’, he added.
A BMA spokesperson told Pulse: ‘Crucially, these changes could have caused disruption over the winter period – distracting from the immediate priorities facing practices and their patients.
‘We are glad that the secretary of state is delaying these plans, providing some breathing space for hard-working GPs.’
They added that the BMA ‘has been clear that this policy was likely to be counter-productive’ at a time GPs are facing ‘some of the most intense pressures many have ever experienced’.
Pulse has approached the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for comment.
It comes as GPs were given until 14 November to respond to a BMA ballot asking what action they are prepared to take against NHS England’s access plan – including refusing to comply with the contractual requirement to declare earnings over £150,000.
According to a Cleveland LMC bulletin published this month, results of the ballot are set to be ‘communicated to members’ today or tomorrow.
However, the BMA has told Pulse that while the results will be ‘considered in detail’, there are ‘no immediate plans to make them available publicly as there is no need to do so’.
Last week, the BMA confirmed that salaried GPs were not covered by the requirement to declare earnings above the threshold.
It also said that it was ‘unclear’ how NHS England would ‘police’ declarations and that any evidence sourced for monitoring via ‘illegitimate means’ will be ‘open to legal challenge’.
In September, the BMA said that GPs have been ‘singled out’ and that the launch of the requirement has ‘breached’ its contract agreement with commissioners.
GP leaders had previously argued that this is an attempt to name and shame GPs. They pointed out that it does not reflect the hours they work, and warned it could fuel anti-GP sentiment among the public who believe family doctors are paid too much.
Meanwhile, the BMA England GP Committee is today due to decide who is to succeed Dr Vautrey as chair.
Two candidates have been nominated – Dr Farah Jameel and Dr Chandra Kanneganti.
Shouldnt be delayed should be scrapped as very devicive
I 100% agree should be scrapped too.
What is interesting though is the methodology. The annual GP bashing when the earnings and expenses report is released uses a figure of total GP earnings in the tax return. That is not limited to NHS earnings – which seems particularly unfair. If my GP surgery partnership has a side hustle of making motor cars, and we make 80k/ year from healthcare and 200k/ year from making cars, then the earnings and expenses report uses the 280k figure, not the 80k figure.
While motor cars are not that common side hustle the earnings figure often includes return for the investment in the building, those that make a good income through private reports, those that have a big occupational health income and so on.
I wonder if the earnings and expenses report should be changed to use the pensionable pay only. Seems much more relevant to the role of an NHS GP.
There is no justification for this earning declaration and it needs to be scrapped not delayed. Even the prospect of it is harmful and will contribute to GPs reducing sessions. It was obvious it was always going to be used as a political tool against GPs and BMA were very very foolish to allow it into the contract. It has already caused problems and will continue to do so unless scrapped (not just “delayed”).
Dear All,
Nonsense, its not been delayed. The regulations were laid but contract variations were not sent out, so no one was obliged to make the declaration. They mucked up. So what Javid is doing is using bluff to cover up their mistake, sounds like he’s being generous but he’s not. The next declaration date is April 2022, i.e. next spring, so again, no change from the regulations.
Regards
Paul C
This is very selective discrimination for a select Healthcare provider and does not include consultants, dentists or other NHS or any public service staff.
When is Boris and his mates will declare millions of pounds earned while employed by taxpayer to work as a MP. A MP would do 10 hours as MP for his pay and other time is to milk their position as an MP.
The easy answer is irrespective of government and the BMA that GPs en masse choose not to submit any earnings data. There is power in unity which is oft forgotten by the profession who tend to bow to every edict sent down from on high….
What of the Indicative Ballot? Pray tell…
Correct, Paul and Dr Vinum 🙂
not sure it was ever going to be published ( not sure they could ever get hold of someone’s earnings to issue breach notice without a breech of data protection act ) but a very good a good leverage tool . I think the GPC were outplayed no coincidence that this announcement occurred today when ballot result is due, Face it we were outsmarted
The real conversation though is now what does it mean to be a GP, the Job is very different to how it was when i entered the profession 30 years ago. More data driven to assess outcomes relationships between families and their gp which are not measurable have lost out . Good job i am retiring soon
A lot of us will be doing the same AS ,4000 a year is not enough even if they were going to do “full time”.which we all know is back breaking and should destroying.