Investment in General Practice in England, 2017/18 to 2021/22: Data quality statement

The Investment in General Practice report uses figures obtained from information from NHS England and other published data on reimbursement and remuneration for dispensing activity. These are discussed and subsequently agreed with the General Practitioners Committee (GPC) of the British Medical Association (BMA), which represents the interests of GPs. Further information is provided in the “Investment in General Practice” tab of the report itself.

Information was provided to NHS England by local providers and therefore the accuracy of the original data lies with the organisations providing the data. NHS England collated the data to provide national level figures.

Accuracy

Figures are an accurate summary of how investment in General Practice has changed over time. Information is provided to NHS England and Investment by local commissioners (CCGs in the main), as part of their statutory accounts.

All results are validated at a high level and any anomalies are highlighted and discussed with GPC.

Coherence and comparability

Investment data are derived from different sources within the Department of Health and Social Care.

Figures in this publication will not be the same as those in the NHS Payments to General Practice publications, which report only on cash payments made to GP Practices within the financial year. This is due to the inclusion of accruals, prepayments and other accounting adjustments and income from Local Authority Public Health Grants for the provision of public health services.

Timeliness and punctuality

The report is normally published in September, approximately six months after the financial year-end. The 2019/20 to 2021/22 reports were delayed due to the impact of COVID-19 and other factors on the publication of the DHSC, and therefore NHSE&I Annual Reports which, in turn, delayed the publication of this report.

Accessibility

This report is accessible via the NHS England website in Excel format.

Performance cost and respondent burden

The data used within the publication are a secondary use of the data and so add no additional burden on NHS organisations.