ARRS ringfence ‘still in discussion’ says NHS England

The funding ringfence around the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS) funding is ‘still in discussion’, according to NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard.

In a letter to the Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC), dated 28 February and published yesterday, Ms Pritchard said it was ‘still in discussion’ whether the ARRS as a whole would remain within the ringfenced SDF bundle, or if it would be moved into core funding.

The letter said final arrangements were ‘to be confirmed to reflect agreements reached on GP contract 2025/26’.

SDF allocations which are moved into core funding will still be monitored, but delivery will not be performance managed centrally, according to the letter.

It said: ‘Where funding is transferred to ICBs without a ringfence for 2025/26, we will continue to monitor spend at the level of the specific SDF bundle (the individual lines in the table), but delivery will not be performance managed centrally.

‘We will also continue to collect and monitor relevant metrics, as well as overall spending data. NHSE will continue to hold systems to account for delivery in line with the Oversight Framework.

‘To ensure maximum transparency, data on provider and ICB performance will be published –including key metrics such as in primary care, mental health, urgent and emergency care.’

The letter, which was a response to the HSCC’s request for more information from Ms Pritchard following her appearance before the committee in January, outlined that within primary care SDF allocations, Pharmacy First, GP fellowships and international GP recruitment would remain in the SDF. But, that primary care transformation and GPIT infrastructure and resilience would be moved into core allocations.

The letter said: ‘In agreement with Government, we are giving local systems greater control and flexibility over how local funding is deployed to best meet the needs of their local population by releasing most funding ring fences.

‘We and Government have been clear that this does not imply those areas previously ringfenced are no longer important, but it is a shift away from central control to local ownership in line with the Government Mandate. SDF, which is already deployed to frontline service providers, will be rolled into core allocations.’

It comes after it was announced last week (28 February) that the ringfence within the ARRS for employing GPs will be removed in the 2025/26 contract.

The contract document said that ARRS funding would be made more flexible for the next financial year.

Earlier this year it was revealed that millions of pounds from SDF was used to meet other financial pressures across 26 ICBs in 2023/24.

Last year, Pulse PCN revealed that some PCNs lost out on additional money due to variation in NHS England’s advice to ICBs regarding bidding for unspent funding for ARRS.