Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to help improve GP training pathways to support GP trainees to become qualified GPs.

Recent efforts have improved general practice (GP) specialty training, to enable GP registrars to become well equipped and highly skilled and qualified GPs.

Following the publication of the Training the Future GP report, teams from NHS England have taken substantial steps to put the recommendations into practice. The report is avaiable at the following link:

https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/TrainingTheFutureGP_2.pdf

Reforms include enabling more innovative and flexible models of training, such as offering a wide variety of integrated training placements, including those in the community, mental health, prisons, academia, and structured learning placements. The balance of time spent in practice has been increased to 24 months of the three-year training programme, which has enabled trainees to form stronger relationships within placements.

GP specialty training has expanded from 2,671 places accepted in 2014 to 4,250 places accepted in 2025/26. As part of the 10-Year Health Plan, the expansion of GP specialty training will continue to be implemented through an increase of available training places each year, to increase GP capacity so that patients can have an improved experience of accessing care.