Tax hikes on general practices would deepen GP unemployment “crisis,” warns outgoing college chair

The outgoing chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has urged the government not to exacerbate the ongoing unemployment crisis in the profession by imposing tax increases on GPs.

In a speech1 at the college’s annual conference, Kamila Hawthorne also called for ministers to provide ringfenced funding to allow general practices to employ the growing number of doctors who are completing their GP training.

Last month it was reported that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves was considering plans to levy national insurance on partnerships including general practices to try to raise almost £2bn a year for the Treasury.2

Hawthorne warned that general practices were already struggling with the impact of the rise in employer national insurance contributions, with some unable to afford to …