Last Autumn many practices were contacted by PCSE, which was undertaking a reconciliation exercise for seniority payments made in financial years 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20. Not all practices will be affected by this exercise.
This process was then delayed because of the need for further validation exercise. This has now been undertaken for all but a very small number of practices.
As a result of the validation, the figure your practice (if affected) will now receive (which may be either positive or negative) may be different to the figure sent in October 2023. The intention is to balance practice payments in the June contract payment run. Across England approximately 1500 practices are due a deduction, and just under 1000 practices will receive a positive adjustment.
Special arrangements
PCSE are making special arrangements for practices who believe a one-off financial deduction in June would place their practice at risk of financial hardship. If this is the case, you should complete the request for a payment plan via the email you have received. There is a short window to complete this, as it should be sent to PCSE by 23rd April 2024. PCSE will set up a payment plan for the remaining ten months of the financial year (June 2024 to March 2025) in which the total deduction will be subdivided into ten equal monthly deductions.
The LMC understand from PCSE that this payment plan will be forwarded to the practice’s ICB: SSLMCs will contact all local ICBs to advise them that, should the ICB consider such a payment plan is unnecessary, they should contact both the practice and the LMC. However, it is difficult to understand any ICB drawing this conclusion.