How Does the ARRS Scheme Work?

The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) is one of the biggest staffing funds in NHS primary care. Since 2019, it has helped attract more than 37,000 new employees into GP practices and Primary Care Networks (PCNs) across England. Yet many people in primary care still want to know how the scheme works, who it covers and what has changed.

Key takeaways

• ARRS funds PCNs to hire more clinical and non-clinical staff, covering salary and employer on-costs for approved roles.

• The 2025/26 changes merged two funding pots into a single £1.7 billion budget with no role caps, giving PCNs full control over hiring.

• GPs and practice nurses are now covered alongside existing ARRS roles such as clinical pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, paramedics and physiotherapists.

• PCNs that carefully plan their teams and access the right ARRS support are in a better position to fully use funding and avoid underspending.
  
  

What is the ARRS?

ARRS was set up by NHS England as part of the PCN Directed Enhanced Service (DES). The aim was to give PCNs the funding to hire extra staff so that GPs can spend more time on complex patient care. Practices do not pay for these posts out of their own budgets. The scheme covers the cost of approved roles.

At first, the scheme only covered a small number of roles, mainly clinical pharmacists and social prescribing link workers. Over time, the list has grown, and the funding model has become far more open.

Which Roles Are Covered?

As of 2025/26, PCNs can claim funding for a wide range of patient-facing roles. These include clinical pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, first contact physiotherapists, paramedics, physician associates, dietitians, podiatrists, care coordinators, health and wellbeing coaches, social prescribing link workers, nursing associates and mental health practitioners.

Two big changes came in the latest contract round. Newly qualified GPs were covered in October 2024. To qualify, a GP must have gained their CCT within the last two years and must not have held a fixed GP post before. Practice nurses were added in April 2025.

There are now no caps on the number of staff a PCN can hire through ARRS. This gives clinical directors and PCN managers much more freedom to build teams based on local need, rather than filling roles just because they sit on the list.

How is the Funding Worked Out?

ARRS funding goes to PCNs through Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). It is worked out based on patient numbers, which means each PCN gets a share based on how many people it serves. Larger networks get more funding.

For 2025/26, one of the biggest changes was the merging of two different funding pots. The main ARRS pot and the GP ARRS pot (set up in 2024/25) have been joined in a single fund. According to NHS England, this joint budget comes to nearly £1.7 billion across England.

This single pot means PCNs no longer need to juggle separate budgets for different staff types. They can spread funding across all covered roles based on what their patients need most. For GPs hired through the scheme, the top salary that can be claimed was raised to £82,418 for 2025/26. This rate sits at the lower end of the BMA salaried GP pay range.

How Do PCNs Claim the Money?

PCNs send claims to their ICB on a regular basis throughout the year. The claims cover salary costs and employer on-costs for each covered role. To qualify, the staff member must be extra to the PCN's agreed baseline, which is the staffing level set in March 2019.

Each role has a cap on how much can be claimed. PCNs can pay staff more than this if they choose, but the scheme will only pay up to the set limit. The full list of caps is set out in the Network Contract DES guidance each year. Unspent ARRS money cannot be carried over or used for other things. PCNs that do not claim their full share risk losing it, which is why many networks now treat staffing plans as a year-round job.

What Changed in 2025/26?

The 2025/26 GP contract brought some of the biggest changes to ARRS since it launched. The NHS Confederation pointed to three key shifts.

1. The single funding pot gives PCNs full control over their hiring choices.
2. The lifting of role caps means networks can hire the staff they truly need.
3. A joint review of the ARRS and its future is being carried out through 2025/26. The outcome of that review could reshape how staffing funding works from 2026/27 onwards, as the DES is set to be replaced by new local provider contracts.

These changes fit with the wider goals of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, which puts local care and mixed teams at the heart of how primary care is run. For clinical directors, ARRS is no longer just a hiring fund. It is a tool for shaping how your network delivers care, and the choices you make now will set the tone for what comes next.

Getting the Most from ARRS

With nearly £1.7 billion on the table, ARRS is a chance for PCNs to build stronger teams and take pressure off GPs. But making the most of the scheme takes more than just filling posts. High-performing PCNs tend to start by mapping where clinical time is being lost, whether in repeat prescribing, medication reviews or same-day access, and then match the right roles to those gaps.

Clear role lines also matter. A clinical pharmacist working across four or five practices without technician support, for example, will struggle to deliver on SMRs, QOF targets and long-term condition clinics at the same time. Getting the team right from the start avoids wasted time and staff burnout.

For networks that need help with staffing plans, hiring or team setups, working with an expert provider can help turn ARRS funding into real gains for patients and practices alike.