Doctors’ and dentists’ pay award announcement 2026
Yesterday (25 March 2026), the government announced the 2026/27 pay award for staff under the remit of the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body (DDRB).
Pay award (England)
The government has confirmed that it has accepted both of the DDRB’s headline pay recommendations:
Recommendation 1
A 3.5 per cent increase to pay ranges and the pay element of contracts from 1 April 2026 for the following groups:
- resident doctors and dentists
- specialty, specialist and associate specialist (SAS) doctors and dentists
- consultants
- salaried GPs
Recommendation 2
A 3.75 per cent increase to pay for salaried dentists working in community dental services.
Subject to successful development and testing, it is anticipated that staff will receive their pay uplifts in June’s pay packets, backdated to 1 April 2026.
Further recommendations
The DDRB made two additional recommendations, not directly related to headline pay, targeted at specific parts of the remit group. The government has said that further time is required to carefully consider these and determine the best way forward.
Recommendation 3
The DDRB recommend that the four governments work with dentists’ representatives to develop an index of dental costs in each nation. These indices should then be used to determine the expenses element of dental contract uplifts in each nation.
Recommendation 4
The DDRB recommend that governments review pay and progression for salaried dentists working in community and public dental services to assess whether the reward structure is appropriate to support recruitment, retention, and service delivery.
National Clinical Impact Awards (NCIAs)
The 2025 DDRB recommendation to increase the value of National Clinical Impact Awards (NCIAs) has been accepted. This uplift will be backdated to 1 April 2025.
| NCIA Level | Award values from 2022 | Award values from 1 April 2025 |
| Level 1 | £20,000 | £21,000 |
| Level 2 | £30,000 | £31,500 |
| Level 3 | £40,000 | £42,000 |
The ministerial letter sets out the government’s formal response to the additional non‑headline pay recommendations made in the DDRB’s 2025 report.
Closed consultant award schemes
There are no uplifts to the consultant awards, which are closed to new applicants, and remain frozen.
Next steps
We will now begin updating our website with all supporting materials and information on pay details, in accordance with the implementation plans and the timetable for all pay-related changes. Once the pay and conditions circular has been created it will be published on our web page.
