Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with the British Medical Association on proposals to pay GPs £20 per request for undertaking advice and guidance with hospital specialists.

In the Elective Reform Plan, the Government has proposed a £20 payment to general practitioners (GPs) per advice and guidance request. We expect this to increase the usage of advice and guidance, and help patients receive the care they need in primary and community settings, instead of being added to the elective waiting list. This funding will help deliver up to four million advice requests from GPs in 2025/26, up from 2.4 million in 2023/24, which we expect could increase diversions from elective care from 1.2 million in 2023/24 to two million in 2025/26.

We are consulting with the General Practitioners Committee in England, of the British Medical Association, on the 2025/26 GP Contract, and will consider a range of proposed policy changes, including advice and guidance. These will be announced in the usual way following the close of the consultation in 2025.