The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme has been the primary mechanism for expanding the primary care workforce since its introduction. The 2026/27 contract makes two significant changes that affect how practices recruit GPs — and creates a new practice-level funding stream that did not exist before.
Experienced GPs Can Now Be Recruited
Previously, ARRS funding for GPs was restricted to recently qualified doctors — essentially newly qualified GPs in their first years of independent practice. This limited the pool of eligible candidates and frustrated practices wanting to recruit experienced GPs who were available and willing to work but did not meet the narrow eligibility criteria.
From April 2026, this restriction is removed. Any GP can be recruited through ARRS, regardless of career stage. The maximum reimbursement amount increases to £118,759 salary (£152,900 including employer on-costs) outside London, and £120,921 salary (£155,698 including on-costs) in London. These figures reflect the top of the salaried GP pay range.
This is genuinely meaningful. It enables practices to recruit experienced GPs — including portfolio GPs, returning GPs, and GPs who want sessional work — using ARRS funding previously restricted to a narrow cohort.
£292 Million Moves to Practice Level
The Capacity and Access Payment — previously held at PCN level — is being repurposed into a practice-level GP reimbursement scheme worth £292 million nationally, approximately £47,000 per average practice.
The funding can be used to recruit additional GPs or fund additional sessions from GPs already working in the practice. The explicit purpose is supporting same-day clinically urgent access. GPs currently employed through the 2025/26 PCN-level Capacity and Access Funding can transition to the new practice-level scheme. The old CAP, CASP, and CAIP payments are removed from the Network Contract DES.
What Practices Should Do
Assess your same-day urgent demand and model whether additional GP sessions are needed. Prepare recruitment plans early — the funding is available from April but recruitment takes time. Understand your ICB's local rules for accessing the reimbursement. If you have GPs on the old PCN Capacity and Access Funding, plan their transition to the new scheme.
The contract is explicitly linking funding to GP capacity — not to other ARRS roles but specifically to GPs. This reflects the Government's acknowledgement that GP capacity is the bottleneck for same-day access and that no amount of multi-disciplinary team expansion substitutes for having enough GPs.
For the clinical quality of care, more GP capacity means more time per patient — which is where tools like iatroX add the most value. A GP who has 12 minutes rather than 8 can check the guideline, verify the prescribing decision, and manage the patient safely. The time is the enabler. The clinical knowledge — available free via iatroX — is what fills it effectively.