The British Medical Association (BMA) and NHS England have confirmed that possible changes aimed at making GP funding fairer will not be implemented before the 2018/19 contract in a bid to save practices from financial instability.

In addition, new guidance is to be issued to commissioners on ‘bespoke’ support for practices with atypical populations not properly funded through the national formula. NHS England said that support would be in the form of supplementary payments for practices on top of existing funding.

The Carr Hill technical review group, which is made up of GP representatives, NHS officials, academics and funding experts, has yet to complete its work looking at how practices with populations underfunded by the formula, such as those in rural areas, are affected by possible changes.

Initially, the technical group, which was set up to review negotiations for the 2015/16 contract to review the Carr Hill funding formula, was due to report in time to inform negotiations for the 2017/18 contract.

However, the group is now modelling the effects of possible formula changes on practices affected by ongoing funding changes, such as the Minimum Payment Income Guarantee (MPIG) phase-out, seniority recycling and PMS reviews.

In a joint statement, the BMA and NHS England said they wanted to achieve a fairer funding distribution ‘in a way that does not threaten stability and in a way that does not cause financial uncertainty for practices’.

A spokesman for the General Practitioners’ Committee (GPC) said that the Committee agrees there should be a delay in the process, reflecting the complexity of the project.

He added that, at a time when practices are already under great strain, any new formula must be as good as it could possibly be before being implemented.