Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the availability of GP appointments in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

We are committed to improving capacity and access to local services across the country, including in South Holland and Deepings. That is why, in October 2024, we provided an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, enabling the recruitment of 1,000 newly qualified general practitioners (GPs) across England. This will increase the number of appointments delivered in general practice, which will benefit thousands of patients that are struggling to care the care they desperately need. This will also secure the future supply of GPs and take pressure off those currently working in the system.

We will bring back the family doctor for those who would benefit from seeing the same clinician regularly, improving continuity of care, which is associated with better health outcomes and fewer A&E attendances.

Additionally, we have announced a proposed £889 million uplift to the GP contract for 2025/26, the largest uplift in years, with a rising share of total National Health Service resources going to general practice. We are currently consulting the profession on key proposals to improve access, continuity of care and GP recruitment.