Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England and NHS Improvement to help ensure equality of access to GPs across England.

The Department works with NHS England to monitor and improve access to general practice services and address regional variation. In 2016, we launched the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme, which has attracted hundreds of doctors to train in hard to recruit locations, including many rural areas, by providing a one-off financial incentive of £20,000. In 2021, there were 550 places available and through additional Government investment, there are 800 places available in 2022.

NHS England is continuing to provide structured support to practices working in the most challenging circumstances via the Accelerate Access Improvement Programme. This is prioritising support to practices delivering care in the areas of highest deprivation and with the greatest health needs.