Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on the takeover of General Practice surgeries by overseas companies.

General practitioner practices in England are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups, through delegated responsibility from NHS England and NHS Improvement to provide primary medical services under either a General Medical Services contract, a Personal Medical Services agreement or an Alternative Provider Medical Services contract. Legislation sets out which individuals and companies are eligible to hold these contracts.

Eligibility varies slightly between contract type but there is no distinction in the eligibility criteria between companies registered in the United Kingdom and those registered overseas.