We are writing to highlight this year’s request to all GP practices to submit information regarding their practice staff by the deadline of 01 September 2026. Practice participation is now required under the imposed 2026/27 GP Contract if a GMS, PMS or APMS Contract is held by the practice.
An NHS staff survey has been run since 2003 but has only been extended to the workforce within General Practice in recent years, and the requirement to participate only this year. The LMC has received a number of queries regarding this, and NHS England has produced a detailed FAQ guidance that includes (Section 3.8), the legal basis under which NHS England (via the independent survey provider, Picker) collects and uses this data and protects its confidentiality. A DPIA (Data Protection Impact Assessment) has been undertaken.
Each identified staff member will receive a personalised questionnaire during the October/November months. Participation by employees is voluntary and anonymous to employers. For staff who do not have a work email address, a paper questionnaire will be
sent to their practice. If staff are identified as working for more than one practice (and are therefore included in more than one practice submission), they may receive more than one personalised survey; again, completion is voluntary.
Other organisations, such as PCNs and Confederations, providing General Practice services but not holding a primary medical services contract, (GMS, PMS or APMS), can participate in the survey, although are not contractually required to do so. Any staff lists submitted by such organisations should cover staff whose primary role is not working in one practice, since
these should be identified via a practice’s submission data. Suppression will mean individual practices will not receive practice level results if fewer than ten staff members participate.
The above information and other FAQ details, together with the staff survey question list, are available at: 2026 NHS General Practice Staff Survey – NHS Staff Survey
The results of previous NHS Staff Surveys are available at: Results | Working to improve NHS staff experiences | NHS Staff Survey
Colleagues should also note that, where available, CQC may ask about the practice’s NHS staff survey and its results, and any action(s) that may have been taken as a consequence.
We hope this additional information is helpful.