Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Online GP appointment requests available everywhere from today, published on 1 October 2025, if he will consider allowing online appointment requests to be made 24 hours per day.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 1 October 2025, general practices (GPs) have been required to offer access to online services throughout core hours, from 8:00am to 6:30pm, bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. This change aims to improve patient access, reduce long phone queues, and help GPs to manage demand more effectively.
National Health Service advice is that patients can contact 111 if their GP is closed, ensuring that those with urgent health concerns receive timely guidance and, where necessary, are directed to appropriate care pathways.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many visas a) his Department, b) the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, c) the UK Health Security Agency, d) the Care Quality Commission, e) the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, f) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, g) NHS Blood and Transplant, h) NHS Business Services Authority and i) NHS Resolution have sponsored since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 December 2025 to Question 96902.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS has spent on agency staff by employment type in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Temporary staffing allows the National Health Service to meet workforce demand fluctuations without the need to increase capacity above that which is required on a sustained basis. NHS England publishes the total agency spend for providers on a quarterly basis. This includes all employment types, as NHS England does not hold a split of spend by employment types. The latest data is available up to September 2025 which can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publications/financial-performance-reports/
In addition, the following table shows total agency spend each year for the last five years
Quarter 2 2025/26 (3 months July 25 to September 25) | £674 million |
Quarter 1 2025/26 (3 months April 25 to June 25) | £360 million |
Quarter 4 2024/25 (12 months April 24 to March 25) | £2,074 million |
Quarter 4 2023/24 (12 months April 23 to March 24) | £3,024 million |
Quarter 4 2022/23 (12 months April 22 to March 23) | £3,463 million |
Quarter 4 2021/22 (12 months April 21 to March 22) | £2,960 million |
Quarter 4 2020/21 (12 months April 20 to March 21) | £2,436 million |
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many visas a) his Department, b) the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, c) the UK Health Security Agency, d) the Care Quality Commission, e) the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, f) NHS England, g) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, h) NHS Blood and Transplant, i) NHS Business Services Authority, and j) NHS Resolution have sponsored since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the cost to (a) the NHS and (b) the public purse of the resident doctor strikes in 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The five-day resident doctor strike in July 2025 had an estimated cost to the National Health Service of approximately £240 million and this was a starting estimate for the planned November strike. The costs were lower than in July 2024 as a result of lower turnout. We continue to update estimates as new data becomes available, in line with receiving business as usual financial data from NHS systems.
The NHS has tried and tested plans in place to minimise disruption and will work with partners to ensure safe care for patients continues to be available and emergency services continue to operate.