No New Money for GP Pay Uplifts – What This Means for Practice Profits
Apologies for the radio silence recently — it’s been a hectic few months balancing clinical work, practice meetings, and everything else life throws at us. I’ve been meaning to write more regularly, but as many of you will understand, time just slips away.
That said, a recent development caught my attention — and if you’re a GP partner, it’s one you really can’t afford to miss.
🚨 No Additional Funding for 2026/27 Pay Uplifts
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has formally written to the DDRB (Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration) and confirmed that there will be no extra money for GP pay rises in 2026/27.
That’s right — no new funding whatsoever to support any pay awards next year. If the DDRB recommends a 2–4% increase for GPs, salaried doctors, or practice staff, the government expects us to fund that out of our existing budgets.
💸 What does this mean in practice?
If you're a GP partner, here’s the reality:
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No uplift to the global sum has been promised
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Any recommended pay rise must come from the money we already receive
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That means a direct hit to practice profits if costs go up and income doesn’t
For example, if the DDRB recommends a 3% pay rise for salaried staff and nurses, we’ll either have to:
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Cut back elsewhere (e.g. reduce sessional or admin spend),
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Absorb the cost ourselves as partners (i.e. lower drawings),
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Or potentially delay recruitment/expansion plans.
It’s essentially a pay rise for others — paid for by us.
🧮 The bigger picture
This comes at a time when:
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Inflation continues to nibble away at margins
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Practice expenses (utilities, staffing, indemnity) are rising
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Expectations on access, continuity, and capacity are going up — not down
And yet, the funding envelope remains flat. The days of annual global sum uplifts under the 5-year contract (remember that?) seem long gone.
Even if the global sum does increase slightly, it’s likely to be a redistribution from elsewhere in the NHS budget — not new money. And any uplift would likely fall short of inflation, meaning another real-terms cut.
📉 What can we do?
There’s no silver bullet here, but a few thoughts:
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Budget early: run scenarios now for 0%, 2%, and 4% staff pay uplifts in 2026/27
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Communicate with staff: be transparent about funding pressures when discussing future pay
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Optimise income: make sure you’re claiming everything you’re entitled to (QOF, IIF, DES, ARRS)
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Cost control: look carefully at recurring outgoings and review them before April
✍️ Final thoughts
This might feel like yet another blow — and in many ways, it is. But it also reinforces the importance of strong financial governance in general practice. Use this knowledge to plan early and hopefully when it comes to a new contract, a more promising one is delivered. Fingers crossed 🤞
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