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BMA calls on NHS England to release details of ‘unallocated’ pensions money

The BMA has submitted freedom of information requests to NHS England regarding alleged ‘unallocated’ GP pensions money.

The requests focus on the ‘value and whereabouts of unallocated monies’.

It also asks about the absence of any bank details on NHS England’s website for online transfers, as well as the number of complaints made against Primary Care Support England (PCSE).

Capita took over the delivery of PCSE functions in 2015, which includes processing pension contributions from GPs for the NHS Pension Scheme.

But Dr Krishan Aggarwal, who sits on the BMA’s GP Committee, said the information would be held by NHS England.

He had previously detailed his concerns about PCSE’s handing of GP pensions on his GPC blog, saying it was unclear ‘how much’ of an alleged ‘unallocated cash’ is ‘our pension money’.

He claimed that the lack of bank details is ‘partly due to a security concern from NHS England and partly due to the fact of unallocated cash within NHS England’s bank account’.

As Pulse has chronicled, pensions has not been the only concern that has stemmed from the handover of primary care support to Capita.

Most recently, GPC chair Dr Richard Vautrey wrote to NHS England earlier this year declaring that the primary care support situation was completely unacceptable’, adding that the GPC will support ’practices and individual doctors in taking legal routes to seek resolution’.

Dr Aggarwal said: ‘While we understand that our concerns are being taken seriously, ultimately it is the responsibility of NHSE to ensure that individuals’ pension contributions are processed correctly, that their records are up to date and that they are submitted to NHS Pensions on time.’

Addressing the concerns set out by Dr Aggarwal on his blog, a Capita spokesperson said PCSE is working closely with NHSE and the BMA ‘to help increase practitioners’ understanding of the correct pensions processes to follow’.

They declined to comment on the GPC’s FOI request.

An NHS England spokesperson said they are ‘working closely with the BMA’ and Capita ‘to address the concerns which Dr Aggarwal has raised and we are all committed to resolving these issues as quickly as we possibly can’.

The GPC information requests focuses on:

  • The value and whereabouts of unallocated monies;
  • The absence of bank details for online transfers;
  • Out-of-date GP pension records;
  • The number of complaints made against PCSE and the lack of communication from PCSE.

Source: BMA