Streeting’s letter is welcome – but not reason to stand down

Editor Sofia Lind on why GPC England should not abandon potential plans for new collective action just yet

Earlier this week, health secretary Wes Streeting wrote to every GP in England to say the Government remains committed to the partnership model and to negotiating a new GP contract within this Parliament.

It’s the first time he has said this directly since the 10-year Health Plan was published in July. That plan made no reference to a new GMS contract. Instead, it set out two new ‘neighbourhood services’ contracts – one for integrated care providers, the other for NHS trusts. For many, this looked like the start of a shift away from GMS towards larger, salaried models. The lack of any mention of GMS only added to those concerns.

Streeting’s letter doesn’t change the direction of the health plan, but it does at least set out that the partnership model is valued and has a place in the future. In the current climate, that is something.

But a statement is not a safeguard. We still don’t know what the new contract will look like, how it will be funded, or how it will protect partners’ independence. Those details will matter far more than this week’s words.

The BMA’s GP Committee is already considering whether to re-enter dispute over the 10-year plan. One of their priorities is to ensure ARRS funding goes directly to practices, rather than through PCNs or other bodies – a change they say is needed to maintain control over how the money is spent.

The possibility of returning to dispute should not be set aside just because of this letter. While it is encouraging to see a commitment in writing, it doesn’t undo the concerns raised by the 10-year plan, nor does it guarantee that negotiations will deliver the protections GPs are looking for. Collective action – or the threat of it – is not an end in itself, but it remains one of the few levers the profession has to secure real change. If that is taken off the table too early, the Government has little incentive to move beyond warm words.

Talks are due to begin in September. The GPC will need to use this commitment from the health secretary to press for concrete guarantees. If they don’t, there is a real risk that this letter will end up as a well-meaning gesture in a process that continues to move away from independent general practice. And if that happens, it will be patients who notice – though only once the change is already embedded.