What is your LMC? | Nottinghamshire Local Medical Committee

The LMC (as represented by Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd) is:

A democratic body elected by, and comprising, local GPs, representing the diverse interests which make up general practice locally.
A representative body which canvasses the views of local GPs and represents them to the ICS and NHS England’s regional office and other local and national organisations and which acts as a focus for debate on GP issues.
A body recognised in statute with rights and responsibilities defined in NHS Acts and Regulations, which serves as the local representative committee for all NHS GPs.
A professional body concerned to promote quality and education and uphold standards of professional practice through encouragement and example in cooperation with other professional and educational bodies.
An independent body which represents the interest of general practice alone and acts as its advocate, free of political constraints and of the need to satisfy other interests.
A source of advice and support for all GPs in all matters affecting their professional lives and activities.

What does the LMC do?
How is the LMC structured?
What do LMC members do?
How is the LMC funded?
Limited Company

The role which Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd undertakes can be subdivided into three broad categories:

Representative – We represent the views of GPs to a variety of bodies, most notably the ICS and NHS England’s regional office, but also to local authorities, social services, NHS Trusts, other contractor professions, patient representative bodies, MPs, national bodies such as the General Practitioners Committee of the BMA (GPC), General Medical Council (GMC), the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), and local and national media. We also undertake negotiations on behalf of our constituent GPs, individually and collectively.

Advisory – We have always striven to keep GPs informed of local and national developments, circulating guidance on local issues and initiatives, and supplementing what is available nationally, where appropriate. We also provide advice on a wide range of subjects to practices and individual GPs.

Support – We have traditionally looked after the interests of individual constituents needing advice or assistance. The support services which Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd now provides includes assistance to GPs suffering ill health, or needing help in coping with any personal crisis, helping individuals or practices respond to patient complaints, and conciliating in intra or inter practice disputes.

Nottinghamshire LMC comprises up to 20 elected members, representing more than 700 GPs, plus co-opted representatives of practice managers and GP registrars. These GPs serve a patient population of approximately 1.1million. The LMC comprises four constituencies based on the locality boundaries of Bassetlaw, Mid Nottinghamshire, Nottingham City and South Nottinghamshire.

The breakdown of representatives per constituency, based on the numbers of GPs within the county is:

Bassetlaw - 2

Mid Nottinghamshire - 6

Nottingham City - 6

South Nottinghamshire - 6

The elected members are at the heart of the LMC, and, as members of Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd, are responsible for making policy and directing the work of the secretariat who represent and support constituents on a daily basis. They also:

Canvass the views of local colleagues and represent them in our discussions
Represent the LMC in committees and working groups and in commenting on NHS policy documents
Assist and advise colleagues seeking help and directing them to other Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd services where required
Explain Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd’s views and policies to constituents and raise our profile among grass roots GPs

The Statutory Levy

All LMCs are funded by a statutory levy. This amount is collected from practices and is based on an amount per patient. This is reviewed annually. It is currently set at 38.72p.

This money funds the office and officers of the LMC. It also funds the representative committees with representatives being paid per attendance and reimbursed travel expenses.

The National Levy

This is a separate levy which is collected to fund the National Negotiating Committee (GPC) and the GP Defence Fund (GPDF) and supports national negotiations regarding General Practice.

This rate is set by the GPDF and is also based on an amount per patient. For more information please contact the LMC office.

Plexus Support Services (PSS) Ltd

PSS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd. It was established in 2008 to ensure that income from non-levy related activities did not compromise Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd’s ‘non-profit making’ status. Nevertheless, Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd benefits from income from PSS in the form of staff cost recharges and occasional dividends. Copies of its accounts are available on request.

Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd has actively sought to defray its running costs by generating income through PSS from:

Payments for Secretariat services to other LMCs
Commercial sponsorship of conferences, seminars, etc.
Payments from practices for various ‘added value’ services
Commissions from the LMC Buying Group

In 2007 the LMC established a company limited by guarantee (Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd) to whom it transferred the responsibility for carrying out almost all of its responsibilities, and for its staff.

The elected members of the LMC constitute the membership of the Company. The Company has five GP Directors, including the LMC Chairman, who is automatically Chair of Nottinghamshire LMC Ltd, and the Chief Executive, who is also the Company Secretary.