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 primary care in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

The Department is committed to ensuring that primary care services receive appropriate support and resources. We are investing an additional £889 million in general practice to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade and means we are reversing the recent trend with a rising share of total NHS resources going to general practice.

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

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents an uplift in funding of over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.

This Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most.

To improve primary care, I understand Lancashire and South Cumbria (LSC) Integrated Care Board (ICB) has produced 2030 road maps for each professional group, designed to maximise skills and increase services provided. These plans are for the whole ICB footprint, including Fylde. Highlights from the plan include: the introduction of standard local enhanced services across LSC ensuring consistency of care for patients and increased funding to practices from 25 May 2025; redesigned urgent primary care access hubs from April 2027; increasing uptake of the Pharmacy First service; pilot programme to screen patients for cardiovascular disease within optometry practices; and implementation of the integrated dental access programme targeting care to those most at need.