The funding is designed to ensure practices have high quality online consultation, messaging and appointment booking solutions and is not dependent on the introduction of new frameworks, which have been suspended until at least June 2024 because of legal action.

NHS England's National Commercial and Procurement Hub will work with buyers in ICBs to put in place contractual arrangements to support the use of funding allocations. 

The total funding of £48m equates to an average of 76p per patient, however, requests up to a maximum annual equivalent of 93p per patient will be considered with funding allocated to ICBs on a first-come first-served basis once full details of costs have been received.