Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the triage system used by some GP practices which requires all contact by patients seeking a GP appointment to be conducted online.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We published our Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care in May 2023, which sets out how we are moving toward a Modern General Practice (GP) model. This plan is backed by £240 million of retargeted funding, going to providing digital services, with the goal of increasing access. The plan sets out how, by improving digital access to GPs, we will free up capacity for those patients who want to contact their practice by telephone or in-person. We are also clear that online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing GPs.
The sole method for GPs to procure these digital services is via NHS England’s procurement frameworks, which list pre-approved suppliers for digital and IT services. This is to ensure consistency in service provisions, as each supplier must meet a set of requirements to be entered into a framework.
As of March 2024, 93% of GPs now have digital telephony systems. This has enabled GP teams to manage multiple calls, helping to end the 8:00am rush for appointments. Trials show that this has increased patients’ ability to get through to their practice by almost a third.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current backlog in local authority audits; and what plans they have to deliver all outstanding audit opinions by their proposed deadline of 30 September.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government has been clear that the significant backlog of local audits in England is unacceptable. It is taking action to deal with this backlog and put the system on a sustainable footing. On 8 February DLUHC, with local audit system organisations, issued a Joint Statement setting out a clear package of measures to meet these challenges, alongside the launch of DLUHC and National Audit Office consultations.
We proposed a statutory backstop date of 30 September 2024 for the publication of audited accounts for all years up to and including 2022/23. This will enable local authorities and firms to focus on the most recent accounts as quickly as possible. Five years of further backstop dates would allow assurance to be gradually rebuilt. The Government also recognises that important questions concerning systemic challenges must be addressed.
The Government is carefully reviewing consultation responses and will respond in due course.