General practices secure substantial reduction in premises service charges after settlement

Five general practices in England have secured large reductions to the service charges for their premises after reaching a settlement with NHS Property Services.The out-of-court settlement, reached with assistance from the BMA, will reduce the service charges by between £25 000 and over £400 000 for the period covering 2013-14 and 2019-20, saving the practices a combined £750 000 in total. NHS Property Services, which is owned by the Department of Health and Social Care, is responsible for NHS premises in England. Service charges are the fees that it charges some practices to use its buildings.The BMA launched a “test case” legal claim in 2020 against what it described as “inflated” service charges. BMA lawyers challenged the legal basis on which the charges were being imposed and the magnitude of the fees. In the first phase of the case, the BMA and the five practices sought a legal declaration that…
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