The Government has announced that GP practices in England will receive a 2% ‘pay rise’, backdated to April, which will allow them to offer pay rises to staff.
The increase is comprised of the 1% rise agreed as part of the GP contract, plus an additional 1% from the Government.
In a written statement, new health and social care secretary Matt Hancock said that this increase ‘will enable practices to increase the pay of practice staff’.
He added that there was potential for a further 1% to be added on top of this 2% from April 2019, but that it was ‘conditional on contract reform through a multiyear agreement from 2019/20’.
His statement said: ‘From April 2019, there is potential for up to an additional 1%, on top of the 2% already paid, to be added to the baseline, and to be paid from 2019/20 conditional on contract reform, through a multiyear agreement from 2019/20. This would be in addition to the funding envelope for the contract negotiation for 2019/20 onwards. This would be reflected in respect of GP remuneration, practice staff expenses and the recommended minimum and maximum pay scales for salaried GPs.’
Mr Hancock claimed that this was the start of a process, whereby he would ask NHS England ‘to take a multiyear approach to the GP contract negotiations’ with investment in primary care ‘linked to improvements in primary care services’.
The 2018/19 GP contract was agreed in March, with GP practices receiving a 1% ‘pay rise’, plus a 3% uplift for practice expenses.
