GP contract 2026/27
Everything practices need on this year’s GP contract in one place: what changed, the money, QOF, the Network Contract DES and vaccinations, with links to the official documents, guidance and business rules.
2026/27 at a glance
- Money: £485m more for core contracts and the PCN DES, a 3.6% cash increase (1.4% real terms), taking the total to just under £13.9bn. It assumes a 2.5% pay rise, to be revisited after the DDRB.
- GP capacity: a new practice-level GP reimbursement scheme, funded by moving £292m from the PCN Capacity and Access Payment, and the ARRS limit to recently qualified GPs removed.
- Access: clinically urgent requests must get a same-day response; other requests an appropriate response, setting out next steps, by the end of the next working day. Patients must not be asked to call back another day, and online consultation tools must not cap requests in core hours.
- Referrals: Advice and Guidance is built into core funding, used before or instead of planned referrals where clinically appropriate, including through single points of access.
- QOF: 18 extra points (about £25m): new diabetes and obesity indicators, heart failure “four pillars”, MMRV, and improvement thresholds for childhood vaccination.
- Vaccinations: RSV extended to everyone aged 80 and over and older adult care home residents (item of service fee), and PCNs must make sure care home residents are offered vaccinations.
- Also: ICB support for practices with unwarranted variation, and the GP staff survey extended to all practice and PCN staff.
What changed and why
The letters and guidance explaining this year’s changes.
- NHS England: changes to the GP contract in 2026/27 (letter, 24 February 2026, with the full list in Annex A)
- BMA: GP contract changes England 2026/27 (the BMA’s guidance and view)
- NHS England: supplementary information (how to put the changes into practice, updated 1 October 2026)
- Implementing the 2026/27 changes in PMS and APMS contracts
Money and payments
Estimate your income and see the financial detail.
QOF
Indicators, thresholds and the business rules.
- NHS England: QOF guidance for 2026/27 (indicators, thresholds and points)
- NHS England Digital: primary care business rules (QOF, enhanced services and vaccination business rules, by year)
- Primary care domain reference set portal (the SNOMED code clusters used in the rules)
- Business rules for enhanced services, vaccinations and core contract components
- BMA: QOF guidance
The contract and legal documents
The standard contracts and the regulations behind them.
Standard contracts (July 2026)
The law behind it
- Statement of Financial Entitlements (SFE) (what GMS practices are paid)
- Directed Enhanced Services Directions (including the Network Contract DES)
- GMS Regulations
- PMS Regulations
- APMS Directions
- BMA: GMS and PMS differences
Vaccinations
Contract requirements for immunisation programmes.
- Vaccination and immunisation standards and core contractual requirements (version 5, 25 August 2026)
- RSV vaccination programme: contractual guidance (version 4, 25 August 2026)
Network Contract DES (PCNs)
What PCNs must deliver, and the agreements they need.
Specification and guidance
Advice and Guidance and single point of access
Advice and Guidance and the elective single point of access.
- NHS England letter: specialist advice and elective single point of access (22 April 2026)
- Interface problems with referrals or Advice and Guidance? Report them to BLMC.
Keeping up to date
Where changes are announced, and how BLMC tracks them.
- Contracts & funding news from BLMC, including NHS England, BMA and press updates.
- NHS England GP contract hub (BLMC checks this page twice a week for changes)
- Clinical system searches and templates for the contract (for example Ardens) are updated by their suppliers: check your supplier’s support pages for 2026/27 changes.
Sources: NHS England, BMA, NHS England Digital, GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk. Last updated October 2026. General guidance, not legal or financial advice. Questions: birmingham.lmc@nhs.net.