We are working with NHS England to grow the workforce by boosting recruitment, addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encouraging them to return to practice. Under the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, the number of general practitioner training places will rise from 4,000 to 6,000 by 2031/32. The first 500 new places will be available from September 2025. NHS England has made available a number of recruitment schemes to boost the general practice workforce.

We are working with NHS England to grow the workforce by boosting recruitment, addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encouraging them to return to practice. Under the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, the number of general practice training places will rise from 4,000 to 6,000 by 2031/32. The first 500 new places will be available from September 2025. NHS England has made available a number of recruitment and retention schemes, to boost the general practice workforce.

Each GP is required to provide services to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. There is no Government recommendation for how many patients a GP should have assigned, or the ratio of GPs or other practice staff to patients. The demands each patient places on their GP are different, and can be affected by many different factors, including rurality and patient demographics. It is necessary to consider the workforce for each practice as a whole, not only GPs, but also the range of health professionals available who are able to respond to the needs of their patients.

It has not proved possible to reply to the hon Member in the time available before Dissolution.

It has not proved possible to reply to the hon Member in the time available before Dissolution.

Practices are able to provide Directed Enhanced Services and Enhanced Services by opting in, and will receive payment for these services separately to global sum payments. As commissioners of primary care, integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning Local Enhanced Services, which are not agreed nationally and can vary in scope and funding to fit local needs.

75% of the four general practice locations in Enfield North are currently rated by the Care Quality Commission as Good overall. One further general practice surgery in Enfield North does not yet have a rating.

There is no centrally held data on the number of general practice vacancies.

The Government remains committed to growing the number of doctors working in general practice. NHS England has made available a number of recruitment schemes, including the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme and the Return to Practice Programme.

The headcount of doctors working in general practice in March 2024 was 4,282 more, including 2,709 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors, than in March 2019.

The latest available data, as of March 2024, shows that the headcount of doctors in general practice in England was 47,173, including 37,235 FTE doctors, of whom 37,399 (27,574 FTE) were fully qualified general practioners.

There is no centrally held data on the number of general practice vacancies.

The Government remains committed to growing the number of doctors working in general practice. NHS England has made available a number of recruitment schemes, including the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme and the Return to Practice Programme.

The headcount of doctors working in general practice in March 2024 was 4,282 more, including 2,709 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors, than in March 2019.

The latest available data, as of March 2024, shows that the headcount of doctors in general practice in England was 47,173, including 37,235 FTE doctors, of whom 37,399 (27,574 FTE) were fully qualified general practioners.

Ensuring that general practice appointments are accessible to everyone, including those who are deaf or hearing-impaired, is a top priority for the Government. Our Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care, published in May 2023, outlines the implementation of a new Modern General Practice Access model, which offers an alternative option to the traditional telephone-based booking system. This is underpinned by £240 million of retargeted funding to improve digital access routes, and support practices to implement new technology. Digital systems will give patients, including the hearing-impaired, the choice to use an online form on the practice’s website to seek help, instead of having to phone for an appointment, or visit in person. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not recently met with the Royal Association for Deaf People.

Ensuring that general practice appointments are accessible to everyone, including those who are deaf or hearing-impaired, is a top priority for the Government. Our Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care, published in May 2023, outlines the implementation of a new Modern General Practice Access model, which offers an alternative option to the traditional telephone-based booking system. This is underpinned by £240 million of retargeted funding to improve digital access routes, and support practices to implement new technology. Digital systems will give patients, including the hearing-impaired, the choice to use an online form on the practice’s website to seek help, instead of having to phone for an appointment, or visit in person. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not recently met with the Royal Association for Deaf People.

The NHS Long Term Plan committed to increasing investment into primary medical and community health services, as a share of the planned total National Health Service revenue spend across five years, from 2019/20 to 2023/24. Investment in general practice (GP) has grown in each of the last five years and in 2021/22, the latest year for which data is available, we saw a 7.14% growth in investment, compared with 2020/21. The full report is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/investment-in-general-practice-in-england-17-18-to-21-22/

The Delivery Plan For Recovering Access to Primary Care, published by NHS England on 9 May 2023, recognised the benefits of moving care closer to home, and supported the vision set out in Dr Claire Fuller’s stocktake report, Next steps For Integrating Primary Care. This is backed by a major new investment into primary care services, with up to £645 million over two years to expand the services offered by community pharmacies, helping to take the pressure off GPs, and providing patients with more options for care.

NHS England instructs integrated care boards (ICBs) to ensure tools are in place to understand demand, activity, and capacity levels in primary care. It is for ICBs to work with practices to determine appropriate local escalation processes for periods of increased demand, and many practices have already agreed such processes with their ICBs, specifically tailored to local needs.

We recognise the important role that international medical graduates play in helping to grow the general practice (GP) workforce, and the barriers that they can face upon successful completion of GP Specialty Training. We have introduced an additional four months for these doctors at the end of their visa, which will allow newly qualified international GPs who wish to work in the United Kingdom with the time they require to find employment following completion of their training. Having invested in National Health Service training for these GPs, they should continue working in the sector by securing employment with a GP with a visa sponsorship licence.

We remain committed to growing the general practice (GP) workforce, and the number of doctors in GPs. There were 4,282 more headcount, or 2,709 full time equivalent, doctors working in GPs in March 2024, compared to March 2019. The Government is working with NHS England to increase the GP workforce in England. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encourage them to return to practice.

We have increased the number of GP training places, and 2022 saw the highest ever number of doctors accepting a place on GP training, a record 4,032 trainees, up from 2,671 in 2014. Under the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan, the number of training places will rise to 6,000 by 2031/32, with the first 500 new places available from September 2025.

The information requested is publicly available and can be accessed here:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/general-and-personal-medical-services/30-september-2023

and

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/general-and-personal-medical-services/2004-2014-as-at-30-september

Under the general practice contract, practices must provide services during core hours, from 08:00 to 18:30 on all weekdays, except bank holidays. Out of hours services are those provided outside of core hours, which practices are paid for via the Global Sum Payment. Practices can opt out of providing these services with their commissioner’s approval, and the relevant deductions will be made to the Global Sum Payments. The amount of Global Sum funding received has been uplifted every year since 2013. Where a practice has opted out of delivering out of hours services, the commissioner must commission the services from an alternative provider, for that practice’s registered patients.