Government to bring forward proposals for ‘GMS contract reform’ in new year

Exclusive The Government will be bringing forward proposals for a ‘reform of the GMS contract’ in the new year.

Health secretary Wes Streeting reaffirmed his commitment to a ‘substantive reform of the GP contract within this parliament’ in a letter to GPs last week, the Department of Health and Social Care told Pulse, and DHSC will put forward proposals for this ‘in the new year’.

Pulse has asked DHSC who will be consulted as part of the reform and if the process will be the same as the overhauled contract negotiations for 2026/27 – in which the Government will ‘consult’ the BMA’s GP committee alongside a wider group of stakeholders, including patient groups.

It comes after last month the Government spelt out its commitment to ‘substantive reform of the GMS contract’ within this parliament, in its evidence to the independent doctors’ pay review body. 

Earlier this year, Pulse revealed that LMCs were concerned that the Government’s promise of a ‘new GP contract’ referred to the two new contracts mentioned in the 10-year plan, rather than to a new wholesale GMS contract which the BMA’s GP committee has been demanding.

The 10-year plan will introduce two new contracts for neighbourhood services which the Government said will be an ‘alternative for GPs’, but grassroots GPs and GP leaders have since expressed concern that the plan could threaten GP partnerships as it did not mention a new GMS contract specifically.

The ‘traditional GP partnership model’ was only mentioned one time in the entire 10-year plan, and the term ‘GMS’ did not appear anywhere in the plan, nor in the Government-commissioned Darzi Review last year.

In its evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) for the next financial year, the Government said that ‘substantive reform of the GMS contract’ will be ‘in addition’ to the two new contracts.

The BMA’s GP committee is currently in dispute with the Government over new access changes, the 10-year plan and a lack of progress in negotiating a new GMS contract.

Pulse has contacted the BMA for comment.