Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that General Practices have adequate funding in (a) Penrith and The Border constituency and (b) Cumbria.

The majority of the Department’s funding is allocated to NHS England. In turn, NHS England allocates funding to integrated care boards (ICBs) for primary care, taking account of nationally agreed contracts, such as general practitioner (GP) contracts. The Department and NHS England set the contract and associated funding for GPs each year in consultation with the profession. ICBs have delegated responsibility for commissioning healthcare services, including GP services, for their populations.

In 2022/23, practices in NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB received £171.07 per registered patient and practices in NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB received £173.00 per registered patient. This is higher than the England average of £163.50 per registered patient.

Spending on GPs has risen by almost a fifth in real terms, or 19%, between 2017/18 and the most recent data in 2021/22, from £11.3 billion to £13.5 billion. The Government continues to invest in GPs to ensure it is sustainable in the long-term.