The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) is a program introduced by NHS England in 2019 to expand the workforce in primary care. It provides Primary Care Networks (PCNs) with funding to hire and reimburse the salaries of specific roles within a multidisciplinary team, aiming to improve access to general practice and support the delivery of new services.
Additional funding of £82 million was announced in August 2024 to support the inclusion of recently qualified GPs in the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) for 2024/25. As a result, the primary care network directed enhanced service (PCN DES) was amended for 2024/25 to expand the ARRS and reimburse the employment costs of recently qualified GPs. PCNs have been able to access funding since October 2024.
The data is sourced from the ARRS claims portal which is used by PCNs to submit claims for the staff that have been employed through the scheme, with only approved claims being factored into calculations. The statistics in this publication present both Headcount and Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) measures of Primary Care staff employed and funded directly through the scheme.
Prior to the issue of data in this publication series, we released data on GPs employed through the scheme on our Supplementary Information pages. Links to this release can be found within the main publication pages.
Initial releases will focus solely on GPs recruited through the scheme and may be expanded to cover other staff groups in future releases.