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 (a) expand the general practice workforce and (b) increase funding for community-based locally led health services.

We are committed to growing the general practice workforce and expanding the number of appointments available to patients, across all areas of the country. This will mean improved access to general practitioner (GP) services and bigger teams of staff providing a wider range of care options for patients outside of hospital.

GP trainee numbers have risen for the third year running, with recruitment up to 15% compared to the same point last year. From 2021, the Government is committed to funding the increase of GP training places to 4,000 a year.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have written to GPs to set out the plans for the COVID-19 vaccination programme and to communicate the availability of £150 million of support during the winter period to expand capacity and support the delivery of GP services.

As demonstrated by the £4.5 billion of new investment for primary and community health services set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, we are committed to enabling a shift in care from hospitals to the community.