GP leaders have launched an investigation into the administration of pensions amid continuing concern about the support services provided to practices.

The British Medical Association believes the extent of the problem is being covered up – and has served Freedom of Information requests on NHS England.

It wants to establish the “value and whereabouts” of unallocated money and the extent to which GP pension records are out of date.

It also wants to establish the number of complaints made about the Primary Care Support England (PCSE) service.

Capita took over the running of the service in 2015 and one of its tasks was to process GP pension contributions.

BMA GP committee member Dr Krishan Aggarwal said: “Our Freedom of Information requests are a result of our ongoing concerns with PCSE’s ability to process the pension contributions of GPs.

“While we understand that our concerns are being taken seriously, ultimately it is the responsibility of NHSE to ensure that individuals’ pension contributions are processed correctly, that their records are up to date and that they are submitted to NHS Pensions on time.

“NHSE must resolve these issues so that no GP is financially penalised due to the processing of pension contributions by PCSE.”