GPs face an official inquiry into a system that allows them to pocket windfalls from their taxpayer-funded surgeries.
The National Audit Office said yesterday it was to hold talks with MPs over the controversial arrangement, uncovered following an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Daily Telegraph.
Under the current system doctors are paid rent by the NHS for a surgery, but also keep the profits from any sale of the surgery.
Concerns were raised after it emerged that the scheme costs the government £630m a year, up from £370m in 2004.
In many cases, the rent covers capital repayments on any loan taken out on the surgery. Rent reviews are carried out every three years and the involvement of “no-win, no-fee” private companies in getting the NHS to increase the rent paid for GPs’ surgeries has also come under question.
Read the full investigation here.
The company charges surgeries the uplift from one year – or around 33% of the increased rent negotiated from the NHS.
The fees for 2010’s surveys would be around £1.5m.
James Wharton, a Conservative MP on the House of Commons’ Public Accounts committee (PAC) said he would raise the issue with the committee’s chair, Margaret Hodge.
“It’s obviously of serious concern,” said Mr Wharton, who is the MP for Stockton South. “It’s shocking that surgeries are being charged this much for increasing their rents. We need to ensure that the taxpayer gets the best-value from the system.”
A spokesman for the National Audit Office said: “We are intending to hold discussions with the PAC about this issue.”
The generous salaries of family doctors has been a source of dispute since a 2004 deal saw the average annual salary rise from £60,000 to more than £100,000.
Read the GPs profiting from NHS property scheme here.
A Bureau investigation into public sector pay last year found that 1,465 GPs were paid more than the Prime Minister, who earns £142,500. Two GPs were paid £475,500 and £475,000 each.
The Coalition government’s NHS programme will hugely increase GPs influence on the management of the vast NHS budget. The reforms will see about £60bn of the NHS budget handed to GPs, who will buy in services.
Additional reporting by Sophie Clayton-Payne from the Bureau
Holly Watt is a reporter at the Daily Telegraph
