Practices are to get a 1% increase in earnings and small reductions in red tape as part of their contract deal for next year, it has been announced.

There will be also improved compensation for costs, including a 28% increase in vaccination fees, the British Medical Association said.

The contract deal is worth an extra £220 million for practices, according to the BMA.

It will see an immediate end to the dementia enhanced funding scheme and there is a joint commitment between the BMA and employers to “explore” the end of the Quality Outcomes Framework and the Avoiding Unplanned Admissions scheme.

There will also be a commitment to a national strateg to cut red tape and to “manage demand” for practice services, the BMA said.

The BMA said the deal was a “step forward” but did not amount to a “clear rescue package” for primary care.

BMA GP committee chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “The BMA’s GP committee was clear from the outset that these annual variations to the contract could not resuscitate general practice from the brink of collapse following years of underfunding, rising patient demand, staff shortages and unresourced work being moved from hospitals into the community.

“These limited changes provide some immediate financial support which, for the first time in years recognises the expenses being incurred by practices and resources needed to deliver a pay uplift rather than a pay cut. There is no new clinical workload requirement or any change to QOF, and the deeply unpopular and imposed dementia DES will be removed with resources moving into core funding.”

Stephen Golledge, of the NHS Employers organisation, said: “The changes will deliver considerable improvements in the quality of care provided to patients alongside a significant increase in the level of investment in primary care. It will also help to alleviate some of the pressures GPs have experienced in recent years.”

He added: “We recognise that more progress is needed to respond to GP concerns about workload and we remain committed to work with the BMA General Practitioners Committee.”