General practice funding in England

A comprehensive overview and implications for policy

General practice is the foundation of the NHS, but these foundations are under strain. Although the workforce in general practice has expanded, more people need more care than a decade ago and there are fewer full-time equivalent GPs per patient to deliver it. 

For the first time, this report brings together multiple national data to provide a comprehensive picture of funding in England. We analyse investment into general practice, how funding is allocated between practices and GP income. We find that general practice’s share of the NHS budget declined from 8.8% to 8.3% between 2015/16 and 2024/25 – despite repeated policy commitments to increase it. 

In the final section, we set out the implications for policymakers if more care is to be shifted from hospitals to the community. We argue a clear multi-year commitment is needed to increase general practice’s share of NHS spending, accompanied by a review of all general practice payment streams, how they are used and how these align with policy objectives. Policymakers and general practices must also increase transparency around GP incomes, address pay gaps between GPs, and align incentives and career pathways to support a more sustainable GP workforce.