BMA threatens legal action over “astronomical rises” in rent for premises

The BMA has rejected a claim by the government’s spending watchdog that GPs regard paying for their premises “as optional,” after an inquiry found that almost £700m (€782m; $890m) owed to NHS Property Services (NHSPS) had been written off or was still unpaid.

In a report published on 26 June,1 the National Audit Office (NAO) said that NHSPS had incurred increasing levels of outstanding debt because it “lacks the powers it needs” to make its tenants sign lease agreements and pay the required share of rent.

But the BMA hit back as it announced that it had written to NHSPS threatening legal action over the “astronomical rises” to GPs’ service and maintenance fees, which the BMA argues have been imposed “with no agreement and no proper explanation.”

Richard Vautrey, chair of the BMA’s General Practitioners …