The reforms, which include an extra £889m on top of the existing budget for general practice, are currently out for consultation with the British Medical Association's General Practice Committee.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'General practice is buckling under the burden of bureaucracy, with GPs filling out forms instead of treating patients. It is clear the system is broken, which is why we are slashing red tape, binning outdated performance targets, and instead freeing doctors up to do their jobs.'

The proposals include incentivising GPs to ensure patients most in need see the same doctor at every GP appointment and reducing the number of performance targets to reduce bureaucracy and ensure doctors can spend more time with their patients.   

Nuffield Trust director of policy and research Dr Becks Fisher said that after years of underinvestment, the proposals were a ‘significant step in the right direction', adding: ‘Funding that recognises the impact of inflation and the ever-increasing demand on primary care is very welcome. Translating additional money into better outcomes for patients will be key to further investment in future years. As well as increasing overall funding to general practice, Government also needs to tackle the distribution of funding within general practice to address long-standing inequalities between richer and poorer areas.'