Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the effect of projected population growth on the demand for GP services over the next 10 years.

Office for National Statistics estimates suggest that by 2024, more than 10% of the United Kingdom population will be aged 75 or over. Our recent publication Transforming Primary Care, sets out our vision for more proactive, personalised, joined up care, particularly for older people. From the end of June 2014, all people aged 75 and over will have a named general practitioner (GP) with overall responsibility for and oversight of their care.

Additionally, because of advances in medicine, people of all ages are living with complex health needs. Starting in September 2014, over 800,000 people will benefit from a Proactive Care Programme, which will provide personalised joined-up care and support tailored to their needs.

To ensure that the workforce is capable of supporting these changes, we are working closely with Health Education England, NHS England and the professions to improve recruitment, retention and return to practice, both for GPs and for other key parts of the local workforce such as community nurses. We are planning to make available around 10,000 additional primary and community health and care professionals by 2020.