Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase accessibility of GP appointments in rural areas.

We acknowledge the urgent challenge of ensuring that rural areas have the resources to continue serving their patients. To address this, we are increasing capacity in general practice (GP) by recruiting more GPs, ensuring rural areas have the necessary workforce to provide integrated, patient-centred services.

We have invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, which has enabled the recruitment of over 1,500 recently qualified GPs across England since October 2024. This will increase the number of available appointments, secure the future pipeline of GPs, and alleviate the pressure on those currently working in the system.

We’ve also delivered the biggest boost to GP funding in years, an £889 million uplift, with GPs now receiving a growing share of National Health Service resources. For the first time in four years, the General Practitioners Committee England backed the new 2025/26 contract, which includes key reforms to improve access to GPs, like making sure patients can request appointments online throughout core hours.