NHS England has now published amendments to the GMS Statement of Financial Entitlements (SFE), confirming the detail behind the new practice level GP reimbursement scheme for 2026/27.
The amendments, published on 1 May 2026, also update reimbursement payments for cover for absent GPs in line with the 2026/27 DDRB recommendations, which the Government accepted in full.
While many practices will welcome the additional funding, the detail of the reimbursement scheme may come as a surprise and could significantly affect workforce plans already being considered by practices and PCNs.
What is the practice level GP reimbursement scheme?
The scheme allows practices to claim funding between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027 for:
- employing a new salaried GP
- funding additional sessions worked by existing salaried GPs
- continuing salaried GP posts previously funded through:
- the PCN Capacity and Access Payment, or
- the PCN Test Sites programme
Further supplementary guidance on the wider 2026/27 GP contract changes is expected shortly.
The key point practices need to understand
One of the most important details confirmed in the SFE is that the funding is restricted to salaried GP employment costs only.
This means the scheme cannot be used for:
- locum GP cover
- additional sessions worked by GP partners
- other flexible workforce arrangements practices may have been considering
This appears narrower than many practices had anticipated following earlier discussions around the funding.
Why this matters for practices
A number of practices and PCNs had been exploring how this funding could support wider capacity pressures, including using locums to create flexibility or enabling partners to provide extra clinical sessions.
The SFE wording now makes clear that these approaches will not qualify under the reimbursement scheme.
Practices that were planning around more flexible use of the funding may therefore need to revisit their workforce and financial assumptions for 2026/27.
For some practices, particularly those struggling to recruit salaried GPs, this could limit how easily the funding can be accessed in practice.
What practices should do now
GP partners and practice managers should:
- review any workforce plans that assumed the funding could support locums or partner sessions
- assess whether existing salaried GP capacity could be expanded instead
- identify any salaried GP posts currently funded through PCN schemes that may now be eligible for continuation funding
- watch for the supplementary NHS England guidance expected shortly
The detail within the SFE is important because it fundamentally shapes how usable this funding will be for different practices.
For many, the headline announcement suggested greater flexibility than the final rules now allow.