Nurses: Pay
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring NHS General Practice nurses have ringfenced salary increases, in line with the arrangements for General Practitioners pay.
Answered by Department of Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to ensuring the general practice (GP) nursing workforce is sustainable, supported, and valued for the work they do.
The Government looks to the independent pay review bodies for a pay recommendation for National Health Service staff, including both contractor and salaried GPs. They consider a range of evidence from organisations including the Government, the NHS, and trade unions to reach their recommendations.
The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) recommended a 3.5% uplift for contractor general medical practitioners and salaried GP pay ranges. As with last year, we accepted the DDRB’s recommendation on headline pay in full. We have provided an increase to core funding for practices to allow this pay uplift to be passed on to salaried and contractor GPs.
To implement this through the GP Contract, as the DDRB’s recommendation was higher than the assumed pay growth of 2.5%, we provided a 1% top-up to the pay elements of the contract on a consolidated basis.
The additional funding also allows for pay uplifts for other salaried GP staff, including nurses. We expect General Practice Contractors to implement pay rises to other practice staff in line with the uplift in funding they are receiving. As self-employed contractors to the NHS, it is up to practices how they distribute pay and benefits to their staff.
The maximum reimbursable amounts for roles employed through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), including practice nurses, will also be uplifted in line with the relevant review body recommendations and ARRS budgets will be increased to reflect this.
GP contractual arrangements do not place any specific obligations on practices with regard to GP nurse terms and conditions.
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