The updated contract for 2026/27 – due to be unveiled later this week – includes additional help for GPs to save young lives and shield families from preventable illness by strengthening vaccination delivery where it is needed most.
Under the current system, only those GP practices hitting high vaccination rate targets earn additional incentive payments. Practices in communities with lower vaccination rates - and who need the assistance most - are often missing out on earning these additional payments even when they are making massive strides and recording year-on-year improvements in vaccination rates.
The next GP contract will help change this by providing improvement incentives that recognise those practices making progress. These additional resources can then be used to reinvest in outreach and to follow‑up with families with unvaccinated children.
Secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting, said: ‘Vaccinations are safe and they save lives. The return of diseases we thought we'd defeated, with children in hospital as a result, is entirely preventable.
‘With our investment and modernisation in general practice, GPs will be backed to protect children and prevent the risk of further outbreaks like we've seen Enfield.
‘Every child deserves a healthy, happy start to life.'
These improvement payments will give GPs the resources they need to help parents to protect children who are currently missing out and reduce health inequalities that leave some babies at far greater risk than others simply because of where they live.
The updated contract will also match childhood vaccination incentives for GPs with the latest national vaccine schedule.
In response, Ruth Rankine, director of the primary care network and neighbourhood lead at the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, said: ‘Primary care leaders welcome this announcement and see it as a fair and supportive approach for general practice, particularly for those working in communities with high levels of unmet need. Increasing childhood vaccination uptake can be challenging, especially in areas where coverage has fallen and the risk of outbreaks has risen, so additional support for practices to work with families will be vital in helping protect babies and children from serious, preventable diseases.
‘We are particularly supportive of recognising meaningful improvement rather than relying solely on absolute thresholds. This is a more realistic and constructive way to encourage progress, given the very real challenges many practices face, including workforce pressures and higher levels of vaccine hesitancy in some communities. Extending improvement-based incentives more widely would help ensure practices are supported to build trust with families and increase uptake over time.'
Under the changes to the GP contract, Primary Care Networks will be required to identify care home residents with overdue or outstanding routine vaccinations. The contract will also allow for greater flexibility in how practices collaborate to deliver flu and Covid-19 vaccines.
The GP contract 2026/27 will also reflect the extension of the RSV vaccination programme to all adults aged 80 and over and all residents in care homes for older adults, in addition to existing cohorts, from April. GP practices are required to offer the RSV vaccination to eligible patients as an essential service.
A new £2m pilot will also see health visitors reach families facing barriers to vaccines, to ensure more children are protected.
