Review Body on Doctors and Dentists Remuneration: Pay Recommendation

I hugely appreciate the incredible work of talented staff across our NHS. That is why I am formally accepting the headline pay recommendation from the Review Body on Doctors and Dentists Remuneration to give them a well-deserved pay rise. This means:

Over 165,000 doctors working in hospital and community health sector will receive a 3.5% pay rise.

For GPs and other general practice staff there will be a 3.5% increase to the pay elements of the GP contract.

Increased funding for the additional roles reimbursement scheme will also be provided to facilitate uplifts for staff in line with DDRB and NHSPRB recommendations.

For dentists there will be a 3.75% increase to the pay elements of the NHS dental contract.

Community dental service dentists, who are salaried, will also receive a 3.75% pay rise.

We are working closely with payroll systems to ensure pay uplifts will be implemented as soon as possible.

These awards are above forecast inflation over the 2026-27 pay year, meaning that the Government are delivering a real-terms pay rise, on top of those in preceding years, underlining the extent to which we value our doctors and dentists. We are in the process of concluding business planning across DHSC and its arm’s length bodies and that will take the DDRB recommendations into account. The existing challenging, productivity and efficiency commitments required by ICBs and providers to deliver break-even positions are the foundations of the Government’s ability to agree this within the existing settlement. This additional pressure above the Government’s affordability position set out in its evidence to the DDRB will be managed by DHSC and ALBs (including NHS England central budgets) so the DDRB increases will not be paid for by cutting frontline services.

I am grateful to the chair and members of the DDRB for their thoughtful consideration of the evidence presented to them; their report recognises the vital contribution that NHS staff make to our country. DDRB have examined the economic picture, and evidence on recruitment, retention, motivation and morale to reach their recommendations.

The DDRB made a further two recommendations, which are not directly related to headline pay, targeted at specific parts of the remit group. I am grateful for these recommendations. However, we need further time to carefully consider these, working with our partners to determine the best way forward. To avoid delays to pay uplifts reaching NHS staff, we will respond separately to these recommendations in due course.

We will continue to implement commitments to improve the support NHS staff receive and their experience at work. Ensuring the NHS is a great place to work is fundamental to improving the patient experience: from reducing the backlog in elective care, to ensuring timely access to GP appointments.