GPNs in England ‘entitled’ to 3.5% pay rise for 2026/27

Salaried general practice nurses (GPNs) in England are entitled to a 3.5% pay rise for 2026/27, the government has confirmed.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting announced on Wednesday that the government has accepted the headline pay recommendation of the independent pay review body for GPs, the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ (DDRB).

He said this meant that for ‘GPs and general practice staff there will be a 3.5% increase to the pay elements of the GP contract’.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed to Nursing in Practice that this meant salaried GPNs would be entitled to a 3.5% pay rise for 2026/27.

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It is typically down to GP practices to pass on pay rises to practice staff following an uplift to the pay element of the GP contract.

However, surveys by Nursing in Practice have shown in recent years that many GPNs miss out on annual uplifts, because funding for their pay and conditions is not ringfenced in the same way that it is for GPs.

Recommendations by the DDRB, published on Wednesday, put forward a 3.5% increase to the ‘pay ranges and pay element of contracts from 1 April 2026’ for salaried GPs across the UK.

In accepting the recommendation, Mr Streeting said: ‘We are working closely with payroll systems to ensure pay uplifts will be implemented as soon as possible.’

The 2026/27 pay award is above the 2.5% recommended by the government in its submission to the DDRB in October last year.

Mr Streeting said this would be managed by the DHSC and arms-length bodies ‘so the DDRB increases will not be paid for by cutting frontline services’.

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He also confirmed that ‘increased funding’ for the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) – which can be used by primary care networks to employ practice nurses and nursing associates – ‘will also be provided to facilitate uplifts for staff’ in line with DDRB and NHS Pay Review Body recommendations.

The headline 3.5% pay rise recommended by the DDRB for GPs has also been accepted in Wales.

Cabinet secretary for health and social care Jeremy Miles said that while general practice staff fell outside the scope of the DDRB recommendations, ‘I have remained committed to ensuring a fair and proportionate uplift across the whole of primary care’.

He said this included ‘all staff working in general practice’ as well as community pharmacy, NHS optometry, and NHS dental teams.

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‘They play an essential role in delivering high-quality care to the people of Wales, and it is right that this is recognised,’ added Mr Miles.

In February, NHS nurses on Agenda for Change in England and Wales were promised a 3.3% pay rise from April – following recommendations from the NHS Pay Review Body that were accepted by the government in February.