Comment from GPC England regarding the Autumn Budget statement

This week’s budget announcement has left GP partners hugely concerned about the significant rise in employment costs from April 2025 and the impact this will have on their practice. For many the cost of these changes to national insurance contributions and the lowering of the threshold will be a hammer blow to practice finances. Previously, these cost increases have been fully compensated, but Treasury officials have said there will be no reimbursement this time.

This is completely unacceptable.  NHS GPs and have been in partnerships since the inception of the NHS and all we are asking is to be treated like all other parts of the NHS who will see these costs reimbursed. We are not like traditional businesses who have shareholders or who can increase their costs when increased expenses arise, and we are making this quite clear to Government and their officials.

We need the Government to rapidly change its mind, and you can help us put pressure on it by writing to your local MP using the BMA online tool.

The chancellor has publicly committed to ‘no reduction in spending powers across the NHS’, which, we have been told, includes NHS general practice. However, at the same time the Treasury has been saying that GP practices may not be compensated in full. We need clarity and certainty, not promises and conjecture.

We are on your side, and we are doing all we can to sort this problem out and make the Government see sense.

GPC England is due to meet on 14 November and the conference of England LMCs is taking place on 22 November, where discussions will be taking place on the flexibilities and asks within the £22bn headline budget figure, as well as the insufficient capital around estate and premises commitments. The team is aware of the concerns of practices and want to assure you that we have this at the top of our agenda.