Changes to hiring GPs via ARRS revealed ahead of contract

Pay for GP roles in ARRS will increase and the ringfence around this funding is to be lifted in the 2025/26 contract, NHS England has revealed.

A document released today states that the ARRS will be made more flexible in 2025/26 with funding for the ‘cohort of ARRS GPs recruited during 2024/25’ to continue equating to £186 million for the full year.

This is an increase on the £82m ringfenced funding pot, that was made available from the start of October to March, in order to support increases to GP salaries.

The ringfence will also be lifted to combine the GP ARRS funding with the main ARRS pot.

PCNs will be allowed to claim reimbursement for GPs alongside existing ARRS roles including practice nurse roles which it confirmed will be added to the scheme.

The are still rules around the eligibility criteria for GPs who can be in the ARRS with it remaining as ‘those individuals who have obtained the CCT within the last two years (at the point of recruitment) and who have not been previously substantively employed as a GP in general practice’.

Also the cap on all roles, such as those imposed on enhanced nurses, will be lifted.

Dr Matt Prendergast, PCN North Clinical Director, University Health Service, Southampton raised concerns that the changes are a Trojan Horse to a salaried model.

‘That flexibility is much better, and this will open up opportunities for young GPs. However, many of the PCNs are fully spent and there is no new money so this will probably have little immediate effect. There are some concerns this is a Trojan Horse to a salaried model,’ he says.

Querying the decision to not include mid-tier GPs Dr Prendergast adds; ‘Recruitment to this scheme may reduce opportunities for them in terms of locum [work] and employment.’

Following strong criticism of the current pay range for ARRS GPs, the BMA’s GP Committee has secured a commitment from NHSE to increase the salary element of the reimbursement amount by £9,305. 

This means the bottom of the salaried GP pay range will increase from £73,113 for 2024/25 to £82,418 in 2025/26, which NHSE said reflects that ‘some GPs will be entering their second year on the scheme’.

This brings the ARRS GP salary in line with the BMA’s recommended pay range for salaried GPs, according to the union. 

The current ARRS reimbursement amounts, which include employer on-costs and came into effect from 1 October, are:

• £92,462 across England;
• £95,233 for those hired in London.

‘Proportionate employer on-costs will also be included within the overall maximum reimbursement amount,’ the commissioner said of its 2025/26 contract offer this morning. 

The details will be available when the 2025/26 Network Contract DES specification is published.

Restrictions will also apply to nurses in 2025/26, as PCNs can only hire those who have not held a post within the PCN, or its member practices, within the last 12 months. 

The £204m Capacity and Access Support Payment (CASP) will continue in 2025/26 and remain unconditional for PCNs.

The £87.6 Capacity and Access Improvement (CAIP) payment will continue but there will be two domains instead of three.

One domain, worth £58.4m, will continue to focus on supporting modern general practice access while the other, worth £29.2 million, will incentivise PCNs to use population health management which included identifying those that would benefit most from continuity of care.

Previously NHS England the three areas in CAIP were patient experience of contact, ease of access and demand management, and accuracy of recording in appointment books.