1 · Your practice
Everything stays on this device. Figures update as you type.
—
Annual entitlement (£4.57 × adjusted population)
—
Patients per GP (registered list ÷ GP FTE, this tool's working basis)
Over 3,500 patients per GP. Your practice should contact its ICB before accessing the funding. The guidance is explicit that this is a supportive conversation, not a barrier. Note the guidance says "patients per GP" without defining the calculation; this tool uses registered list ÷ GP FTE as a working basis.
2 · Compare your options
Adjust each scenario to your circumstances. The claim is always the lower of actual cost, the national cap, and your entitlement. Each option is modelled on its own against the full entitlement, so treat them as alternatives rather than adding them together.
A · Hire a new salaried GP
Or continue a GP previously funded by the Capacity & Access Payment / PCN test sites. A locum can be funded only by taking an employment contract, which makes them a new salaried GP under the scheme.Claim cap—
Funded from entitlement—
Practice tops up—
Extra appointments / week—
B · Extra sessions from existing GPs
Existing salaried GPs can go up to 9 sessions a week eachHourly cap—
Annual cost—
Funded from entitlement—
Practice tops up—
Extra appointments / week—
C · Explore: switch an ARRS-funded GP
Check with your ICB first. This route is discussed in the sector but is not one the national guidance lists, and the 12-month additionality rule may apply. Modelled here so you can see what it would free up if agreed.Funded from entitlement—
Practice tops up—
ARRS budget freed for other roles (the GP's full ARRS cost, only if the practice also covers the top-up above)—
Extra GP appointments / weeknone — same GP, new funding route
3 · Side by side
The three options are alternatives, not a shopping list. Each row is costed against your full entitlement on its own, so the figures do not add up and should not be combined.
| Option | Uses entitlement | Entitlement left if you choose this option | Practice top-up | Extra appts / week | Extra appts / year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A · New salaried GP | — | — | — | — | — |
| B · Extra sessions | — | — | — | — | — |
| C · ARRS switch | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
Indicative only. This planner models the published national rules to help you think; it is not financial advice and it is not a claim. Entitlements and claims are administered through CQRS Local and approved by your ICB, and practices within a PCN can transfer entitlements to each other with written confirmation to the ICB. Check your figures with your ICB before committing.
Assumptions and sources
- Entitlement = £4.57 × practice adjusted population at 1st January 2026, embedded in baseline allocations. Scheme runs 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2027, with funding remaining in the core contract thereafter.
- Salaried GP claims: lower of actual cost or £152,900 (£155,698 with London weighting), including employer NI and pension. Locums must take an employment contract to be funded.
- Extra sessions: lower of actual cost per hour or £90.61 (£92.27 with London weighting). Existing GPs may work up to 9 sessions a week.
- New GPs must not have been salaried at the practice in the previous 12 months (with exceptions for cover and retirees returning).
- Practices above 3,500 patients per GP contact their ICB before accessing funding (a supportive touchpoint, not a barrier). The guidance does not define the ratio's calculation; this tool uses registered list ÷ GP FTE as its working basis.
- Scenario C (refunding an ARRS-funded GP from the entitlement to free network budget) is NOT a route the national guidance lists; it is sector discussion. The additionality rule (no salaried employment at the practice in the prior 12 months) may apply. Treat it as a conversation to have with your ICB, not an entitlement.
- This scheme applies to England. The GP contracts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are different and this planner's funding figures do not apply there.
- Appointments per session and weeks per year are yours to set in section 1; the defaults (13 and 46) are common planning figures, not national rules. Both drive every annual figure on this page, including the cost of extra sessions.
- Each of the three options is costed independently against your full entitlement. They are alternatives to compare, not steps to combine, and the "entitlement left" column shows what would remain if you chose that one option.
- Source: NHS England, Supplementary information to support changes to the 2026/27 GP contract, 20th May 2026 (PRN02423), section 2.2.