Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 26 January (HL13928), what consideration have they given to the risks of self-diagnosis of mental health conditions from online quizzes and other resources.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that information about mental health is increasingly accessed online, including through quizzes and other digital resources. While such tools can play a role in helping people reflect on their wellbeing and can encourage them to seek support, they should not be used as a substitute for professional advice or diagnosis from appropriately trained clinicians.
We continue to signpost the public to trusted sources of information and support. For example, the National Health Service’s Every Mind Matters platform provides evidence-based advice, including a short quiz which offers tailored tips to support mental health and wellbeing.
The Government also recognises the broader risks that can arise from online environments. We have launched a national consultation on children’s online wellbeing to gather views on the next steps to build on the provisions in the Online Safety Act 2023. The three-month consultation will be evidence-led, with input from independent experts, and will explore options including strengthening age assurance, addressing harmful design features, and determining the appropriate minimum age for children to access social media. It will report in the summer.
We are also aware that more children and young people are using generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for mental health advice and support. The Government is clear that AI chatbots must not replace advice and support from trained medical professionals. Publicly available AI applications that are not deployed by the NHS are not regulated as medical technologies, and users should exercise caution when using unregulated applications. The Government’s consultation will also explore the impact that chatbots may have on children’s wellbeing and whether further safeguards are required.
More broadly, we recognise that mental health is complex and that a range of factors may be contributing to rising demand for support. In December 2025, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, commissioned an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. The review will examine the evidence on what is driving increased demand for support and diagnosis so that we can ensure people receive the right support, at the right time, and in the right place.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that new neighbourhood health centres will be led by trusted local GPs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practice (GP) is the cornerstone of the Neighbourhood Health Service. GPs have a deep understanding and experience of their local population needs and a key role to play in maintaining the health and wellbeing of their neighbourhoods.
We will encourage GPs to work over larger geographies by leading new neighbourhood providers. These providers will convene teams of skilled professionals, to provide truly personalised care for groups of people with similar needs.
These teams of professionals and partners, nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, employment support, children’s services, and more, will work together to support people and places to improve their health and wellbeing.
We also envisage GPs playing an important role in supporting the shift of more planned care out of hospital, for example through working directly with consultants to support people with complex conditions closer to home, without the need for a hospital referral.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much is being spent each year on primary care, and how much is being spent on the core GP contract.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2024/25, the latest year for which data is available, the total value of expenditure on all primary care was £19.8 billion. This includes expenditure on commissioning optometry, pharmacy, and dental services and excludes prescribing and secondary dental care. At this time, the total value of the GP Contract was £12.3 billion.
We are investing £485 million in general practice in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to over £13.8 billion. This uplift represents a 3.6% cash increase from 2025/26, or 1.4% real terms increase, and includes an assumed pay increase of 2.5%. It follows a record £1.1 billion of investment in 2025/26. As with previous years, we have asked the independent pay review body for Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration, for a pay recommendation for 2026/27 for the Government to consider.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of new online consultation requirements on patient access to GP care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practices (GPs) are independent businesses contracted by the National Health Service to deliver essential services, and as part of these contracts they are required to provide modern telephony systems, online consultation tools, and ensure that receptions are open during core hours. In the 2025 contract negotiations with the General Practitioners Committee England, an agreement was reached to ensure online consultation systems are available throughout core hours. These changes are designed to improve access to GPs, end the 8:00am scramble, and ensure parity across all access options.
In January 2026, there has been an increase of 4.1 million online consultation submissions compared to January 2025. Office for National Statistics data from January 2026 shows that 76.8% of patients found it “easy” to contact their GP, up from 60.9% in July 2024. In the year to January 2026, including COVID-19 vaccinations, an additional six million appointments were delivered compared with the previous 12 months.
Asked by: Juliet Campbell (Labour - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve GP Practice premises to increase the number of (a) consulting rooms to allow practices to train more medical students, (b) GP Registrars and (c) hire more GPs in (i) Broxtowe Constituency, (ii) the East Midlands and (iii) England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In May 2025, we announced schemes which were prioritised by integrated care boards (ICBs) to benefit from the £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund (PCUMF). This fund is to deliver upgrades to more than a thousand general practice (GP) surgeries across England this financial year. These schemes will create additional clinical space within existing building footprints to enable practices to see more patients, boost productivity, and improve patient care.
Building on this, the Government has committed £426 million of Utilisation and Modernisation funding over the next four years to continue upgrading the GP estate. This funding will also support refurbishing the existing estate to deliver neighbourhood health centres over this Parliament, as part of the 10-Year Health Plan commitment.
Through the PCUMF, the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB has committed £1.9 million to creating space for 250,000 new appointments for 2025/26. For the Broxtowe constituency this was an allocation of £335,000, which creates space for 52,500 appointments across two schemes in Beeston, and one each in Chilwell and Newthorpe. All clinical rooms are flexible in design so can be used for face-to-face clinical consultations with patients, used by GP Registrars, and/or to increase training capacity.
The Department does not hold East Midlands-level data. The Government has taken steps to grow the GP workforce. We currently have the highest number of fully qualified GPs since 2015, and we want to go further. Following feedback from the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation, we are introducing a practice-level GP reimbursement scheme using £292 million of repurposed funding from the current Capacity and Access Payment. This funding will be available to practices to hire additional GPs or fund additional sessions with existing GPs to improve access in GPs. We are also increasing the flexibility of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme enabling primary care networks to recruit more experienced GPs.
We are also committed to training thousands more GPs. We have expanded GP training places by 250, taking the total number of available places to 4,250 for 2025/26, and we plan to expand this again for 2026/27. Current and future expansions to post-graduate training, including foundation training and GP specialty training, have been planned on the basis of relative need, balanced with ability of locations to support trainees.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 30 January (HL14009), what steps they are taking to understand the factors driving the increasing demand for mental health services, and whether increased spending will have any impact on reducing these factors.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has launched an independent review into mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism to understand the rises in the prevalence and demand on services. The review will examine the evidence around what is driving this rising demand, including determining which trends reflect real increases in disorder, which reflect changes in awareness or access, and which are artefacts of measurement or definition. It will also consider wider factors beyond the National Health Service, such as education, employment, housing, and digital culture, to understand how these interact with people’s needs and where intervention may make the greatest difference.
We need a new approach to mental health that goes further than simply more funding, one that reduces waiting times, improves the quality of care, and promotes prevention and early intervention. Patients should have access to alternative models of support within and beyond the NHS, supplemented by clinical care. This will mean people get support earlier, avoid reaching crisis, and experience better mental health outcomes.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement a community pharmacist prescribing service.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This includes our commitment to make prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists. The NHS Medium Term Planning Framework supports this ambition by instructing integrated care boards that they must introduce prescribing based services into community pharmacies during 2026/27 to support primary care access. From September 2026, all newly qualified pharmacists will be independent prescribers upon registration.
The Department is currently in consultation with Community Pharmacy England on the 2026/27 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework. This consultation will consider any proposed changes to the reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors in 2026/27, including considering the introduction of prescribing into community pharmacy services. Once this consultation has concluded, the results will be formally announced.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 29 January (HL13929), whether the independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions will include any of the harms which follow from unnecessary diagnosis or treatment.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As this is an independent review, it is for the chair, Professor Peter Fonagy, alongside the co-chairs, to determine the scope of their work, what conditions are covered, and the outputs and recommendations they choose to make, in line with the terms of reference set by the Government.
The review will examine the impact of clinical practice and explore the role that medicalisation of mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism plays, including the associated risks and benefits. The terms of reference are available at the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 26 January (HL13928), what assessment they have made of the use of labels for mental health conditions, and whether the independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions will consider this.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While no such specific assessment has been made, the terms of reference for the independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism state that the review will look at evidence on the role of diagnosis for children, young people, and adults, including the value of diagnosis to individuals, and barriers to receiving a diagnosis, and its impact on receiving support. The terms of reference are available on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for responding to the Kingdon Review.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The timetable for responding to the Kingdon Review has not yet been determined. We are continuing to examine the findings of the review.