Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners report entitled Fit for the Future GP Pressures 2023, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing for additional clinical staff in general practice.

We remain committed to growing and diversifying the general practice (GP) workforce. Through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), Primary Care Networks have recruited over 23,000 additional staff including pharmacists, physiotherapists, and social prescribing link workers. These roles provide appointments and perform clinical and administrative tasks as part of the wider GP multi-disciplinary team.

The ARRS has expanded the number of roles that can be recruited, with Advanced Practice Nurses becoming reimbursable through the scheme from 1 April 2023.

NHS England committed to a review of the ARRS by the end of 2023. This work will cover the performance of the scheme to date and inform the Government’s approach to any future support for additional clinical roles in GPs.