What has changed in the PCN DES 2026/27?

Mar 27
4 min read

The 2026/27 PCN DES specification was published on 26 March 2026. Much of what it contains is business as usual, but there are some changes to payment rates, ARRS funding, and operational requirements that PCN leaders need to act on. This blog draws out what's different.

What has changed in the financial entitlements?

The table below covers all DES payments for 2026/27, alongside those for 2025/26 for comparison.

Payment	2025/26	2026/27
Core PCN Funding — fixed component (× registered list size at 1 Jan 2026)	£2.266	£2.311
Core PCN Funding — weighted component (× adjusted population at 1 Jan 2026)	£0.733	£0.748
Enhanced Access (× adjusted population)	£8.427	£8.903
Care Home Premium (per bed)	£130.253	£133.158
ARRS total sum (×contractor weighted population)	£26.631	£27.668
NPP (× contractor weighted population)	£1.761	£1.761
IIF	58 pts at £198.00/pt	58 pts at £198.00/pt
CASP (× adjusted population)	£3.208	Removed
CAIP (× adjusted population)	Up to £1.375	Removed

Core PCN Funding combines the Clinical Director Payment and the PCN Leadership and Management Payment, as in previous years. The IIF declaration deadline and payment date of 31 August 2027 are unchanged.

Calculate your PCN finances here.

What has changed in ARRS?

Total ARRS funding

The ARRS total sum increases from £26.631 to £27.668 per adjusted population.

GP reimbursement

The national GP reimbursement rate increases from £105,882 to £152,900. The 2025/26 restriction limiting eligibility to GPs within two years of their CCT has been removed. The only remaining restriction is that the GP must not have been substantively employed at a Core Network Practice of the PCN in the previous 12 months.

Other non-direct patient care roles

Section 7.3.2-C is new in 2026/27. PCNs may now recruit other non-direct patient care roles from within the ARRS budget if agreed with the commissioner in advance. This did not appear in the 2025/26 specification. The Part B guidance requires agreement before recruitment, using the admin/non-clinical other NWRS code and a newly created “Other Non-direct Patient Care” claims category in the PCN Monthly Claims Portal.

Other ARRS role rates

All other ARRS role rates have increased. The rates set the ceiling for what PCNs can claim back, so for networks where staff salaries have risen, the uplifts reduce the gap between what is being paid and what can be recovered.

The full updated rates for all ARRS roles can be found here: https://www.thcprimarycare.co.uk/pcn-additional-roles-reimbursement-scheme-rates-26-27

Access and patient experience

The contractual requirement is unchanged: clinically urgent patients must receive an appropriate response on the same day. That response can be an appointment, further clinical enquiry, or signposting to another site of care. It cannot be "call back tomorrow."

Non-urgent requests must receive an appropriate response by end of next working day. Online consultation systems must not cap requests during core hours (8:00–18:30).

What is new is the system-level target sitting above this. ICBs now have a target to achieve 90% same-day access for clinically urgent patients by March 2027. That is an ICB performance target, not a contractual PCN requirement — but it will drive commissioner focus, and PCNs where unwarranted variation is identified are expected to engage with ICB support.

The distinction matters: the contractual standard is the appropriate response, not a percentage. But if your practices are still asking patients to call back the next day, that is a breach.

Other changes worth noting

GP Staff Survey (GPSS)

New for 2026/27. PCNs must nominate a key contact to supply email addresses of all eligible staff, including ARRS roles employed by third parties, so the commissioner can issue personalised survey links.

Neighbourhood alignment

Where a commissioner defines a neighbourhood around a natural community that does not align with the PCN’s Network Area, the PCN must work with the commissioner to seek alignment.

The specification states this is expected to apply only in limited circumstances and is not intended to signal widespread reconfiguration.

Nominated payee flexibility and vaccine sharing

A non-GP provider can now be a PCN’s nominated payee, and/or a separate bank account can be linked to the PCN ODS code.

Separately, the PCN Grouping concept for vaccine sharing is removed from April 2026; collaborative delivery via subcontracting or agency arrangements remains available.

Cancer Requirements Expanded

PCNs must now review referral quality specifically against NICE Guideline 12 and use electronic safety netting tools to monitor patients with potential cancer symptoms, more prescriptive than the 2025/26 wording.

Two screening programmes have been added that were not in the previous specification: the NHS lung cancer screening programme, and a group of non-cancer programmes covering diabetic eye screening, abdominal aortic aneurysm screening, and antenatal and newborn screening, with signposting via the NHS App.

The existing breast, cervical and bowel cancer screening requirement remains, with the addition of an expectation to understand barriers to uptake.

One place to evidence it

We've created a tracker so you can evidence compliance in one place and brief your board or practices without starting from scratch.

11 tabs. One per section. Every mandatory requirement is laid out with a notes column to record where you're up to and who owns what.

It's available now in the PCN Members Club. If you're not yet a member, the Members Club gives you access to tools, trackers, templates, masterclasses and 1-2-1 access to Tara Humphrey.

Join the PCN Members Club today

We hope this summary helps.