Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department provides to NHS England and clinical commissioning groups on the account they should take of future residential developments with regard to GP service provision.

Commissioning of general practitioner (GP) services is a responsibility of NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) with delegated authority. Currently around half of CCGs have delegated authority. As part of these arrangements, NHS England and CCGs are responsible for planning GP services to ensure they are appropriate for the local population. This should take into account a number of factors, including information about known future residential developments and implications for requirements for healthcare provision, including GP services. Based on this information, the commissioners should engage with the local planning authority to enable decisions to be made on the appropriate funding arrangements for the required health infrastructure resulting from the new development.

Departmental guidance on planning matters for National Health Service organisations is available in Part B of the Department publication Health Building Note 00-08 The efficient management of healthcare estates and facilities and Health Building Note 00-08 Addendum 2 – A guide to town planning for health organisations. These publications are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-efficient-management-of-healthcare-estates-and-facilities-health-building-note-00-08