GP Reimbursement Scheme 2026/27: How Practices Can Claim Through CQRS Local

The scheme replaces the former PCN-level Capacity and Access Payment and moves £292 million of recurrent funding directly to individual practices.

Practices can use the funding to employ a new salaried GP, increase the hours of an existing salaried GP or, in certain circumstances, continue a GP post previously funded through the PCN Capacity and Access Payment or Test Sites programme.

Claims are submitted through CQRS Local and approved by the practice’s integrated care board.

This guide explains what your practice can claim, how much funding is available, the additionality rules and what needs to be done now.

What has changed?

Until 31 March 2026, Capacity and Access Payment funding formed part of the Network Contract DES and was paid at PCN level.

From 1 April 2026, that funding was removed from the DES and repurposed as a practice-level reimbursement scheme.

The key change is not simply a new name. Responsibility has shifted:

• the funding entitlement belongs to the individual practice;
• the practice employs or increases the hours of the GP;
• the practice submits the reimbursement claim; and
• the ICB approves the claim through CQRS Local.

The funding remains recurrently within the core GP contract beyond 2026/27. NHS England has confirmed that it will not return to PCNs after the current financial year.

How much can each practice claim?

Each practice’s maximum annual entitlement is:

This creates a practice-specific funding ceiling rather than a standard amount for every organisation.

Illustrative practice allocations

What can the funding be used for?

Can locum GPs be funded?

A traditional self-employed or agency locum arrangement is not reimbursable.

However, a GP who has previously worked as a locum may qualify where they enter into an employment contract with the practice for the sessions being claimed.

For the purpose of the scheme, they would then be treated as a new salaried GP rather than as a self-employed locum.

The additionality rules

The purpose of the scheme is to create or preserve additional GP capacity. It cannot simply be used to reimburse existing staffing costs.

Practices can transfer entitlement within their PCN

Practices within the same PCN can transfer all or part of their funding entitlement to one another.

This could be useful where:

• one practice cannot use its full allocation;
• another practice has recruited an eligible GP but has insufficient individual entitlement;
• a GP previously funded at PCN level is now employed by one member practice; or
• the PCN wants to preserve an existing shared-capacity arrangement.

The practices must complete NHS England’s Transfer of Financial Entitlement form and submit it to their ICB.

How to claim through CQRS Local

Claims are made through CQRS Local, not CQRS National.

ICBs are responsible for:

• onboarding practices to the service;
• managing CQRS Local user accounts;
• reviewing claims; and
• approving payments.

The basic claims process

1. Confirm that the GP and additional capacity meet the scheme rules.
2. Calculate the actual eligible employment cost.
3. Check that the claim remains within the practice’s annual entitlement.
4. Enter the claim through the GP Reimbursement Scheme service in CQRS Local.
5. Provide or retain the supporting information required by the commissioner.
6. Submit the claim for ICB approval.
7. Amend future claims promptly where the GP’s employment or working hours change.

Claims must be submitted within three months of the end of the calendar month to which they relate.

A claim can be entered once and copied forward for up to the following three months, reducing the need to recreate the same claim manually each month.

Approved payments are made in arrears at the end of the calendar month following submission.

What evidence should practices retain?

Although CQRS Local is the submission route, practices should maintain a clear local audit file.

The practice should also retain confirmation that:

• the GP meets the relevant eligibility and additionality conditions;
• the costs are not being claimed through another scheme;
• the capacity is not being used to cover an absent GP where separate provisions apply; and
• the declaration made as part of the claim is accurate.

The paperwork may feel less exciting than recruiting another GP—because it absolutely is—but it is what will protect the practice if the claim is reviewed.

What changes must be reported?

Practices should tell their commissioner promptly about material changes that may affect their eligibility or reimbursement.

Examples include:

• a practice merger;
• a significant list-size change that affects the patient-to-GP ratio, including taking it above 3,500 patients per GP;
• a change affecting eligibility for the scheme; or
• another material change to the circumstances supporting the claim.

Routine changes to individual claims, such as GP starters, leavers or changes in hours, should be reflected by amending the relevant claim in CQRS Local.

A practice should not allow copied-forward claims to continue unchanged where the underlying employment arrangement has altered.

How does this interact with ARRS?

The Practice Level GP Reimbursement Scheme and ARRS now provide two potential routes for funding additional GP capacity.

Under the 2026/27 Network Contract DES, ARRS is no longer restricted to recently qualified GPs. PCNs can recruit eligible GPs regardless of how long they have been qualified.

However, the eligibility, additionality and employment arrangements differ.

Before choosing a funding route, consider:

• Will the GP be employed by an individual practice or through a PCN arrangement?
• Has the GP worked in the practice or PCN during the relevant preceding period?
• Which organisation has sufficient available entitlement?
• Which route provides the most sustainable funding arrangement?
• Is the proposed post intended to serve one practice or several?
• Could unused practice entitlements be transferred within the PCN?

What should practices do now?

A worked example

The wider access requirements still matter

The reimbursement scheme is intended to increase GP capacity and support clinically urgent same-day access.

Alongside the funding, the 2026/27 contract requires practices to ensure that requests identified as clinically urgent are dealt with on the same day.

That does not necessarily mean every urgent patient must receive a face-to-face GP appointment.

Appropriate same-day action may include:

• offering an appointment;
• providing clinical advice or care;
• directing the patient to another appropriate service;
• requesting further information; or
• explaining when and how further information or care will be provided.

Practices should be able to show not only that additional GP capacity was employed, but how it supports their access model and patient population.

Useful tools

Further reading