The Government is expected to formally introduce a new reimbursement scheme for GP practices next month, according to an update shared by the BMA.

The union said NHS England has opened discussions with the Government on adding the scheme to an amended Statement of Financial Entitlements (SFE). Although the updated SFE published last week did not include the new arrangements, NHS England is reportedly working towards a 1 May implementation date.

That date is not yet confirmed. The BMA said NHS England has indicated that the Government Legal Department is still reviewing the complexity of the legal drafting, meaning the final publication timetable could still shift.

Despite that uncertainty, NHS England has reassured practices that claims will still be allowed retroactively for the full financial year, regardless of when the amendment is published or when the claims portal becomes available.

The scheme forms part of the 2026/27 GP contract and redirects £292 million previously allocated at PCN level, allowing individual GP practices to use that funding to recruit additional GPs or expand existing GP sessions.

NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care are working to establish the scheme in the least bureaucratic and most practical way possible, while continuing discussions with GPC England.

NHS England has also made clear that practices will not lose access to funding because of any delay in the administrative rollout. In effect, practices will be able to submit claims covering the full year once the mechanism is live.

The £292 million being used for the new practice-level scheme has been repurposed from the Capacity and Access Payment (CAP), which previously sat within the Network Contract DES. Guidance published by NHS England last week confirmed that GPs currently employed through CAP arrangements may be eligible to transfer into the new reimbursement model.

Mixed reaction across primary care

Reaction across primary care has been mixed. Some practices and GPs have welcomed the move, seeing it as a shift of funding closer to frontline general practice. However, PCN leaders and managers have warned that removing CAP funding could seriously undermine services that networks currently provide.

The Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM) said many PCNs rely on this funding to support initiatives that reduce pressure on core GP appointments and improve patient access.

According to the organisation, CAP funding is often used to deliver services such as:

• Housebound visiting services
• Prescription hubs
• Respiratory clinics
• Winter illness centres
• Other demand-management services designed to protect GP capacity

It has also been used to strengthen ARRS-funded roles with more competitive pay, support subcontracted specialist services, and invest in digital tools that improve collaborative working, population health analysis and risk stratification.

IGPM national PCN representatives Sarah Cole and Kerryann Dolbear said the transfer of funding leaves networks facing difficult decisions at short notice, including scaling back services or making staff redundant, without enough detail to plan safely or seek proper employment advice.

They warned that this will inevitably affect patient care and has already created significant anxiety across both PCNs and practices.

Call for greater clarity

The IGPM also criticised the ongoing lack of detail from Government on how the money can be used going forward, whether the funding will be recurrent, and what contractual assurances practices can rely on if they begin recruiting under the new model.

Its representatives said practices need urgent clarity on recruitment rules, employment terms and long-term funding stability. Without that, practices are being asked to make major workforce decisions on the basis of only limited high-level information.

The organisation added that PCNs also need clear support as funding moves away from existing services and staffing models.

Cole and Dolbear concluded by urging the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to respond to the operational realities facing those delivering care on the ground, and to provide the clarity and tools needed to run safe, effective primary care services.