Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of GPs per head of population in Bedfordshire by 2035, in the context of the 10 Year Health Plan.

Each general practice (GP) is required to provide services to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. There is no NHS England recommendation for how many patients a GP should have assigned, or the ratio of GPs or other practice staff to patients. The demands each patient places on their GP are different and can be affected by many different factors, including rurality and patient demographics. It is necessary to consider the workforce for each practice as a whole, not only GPs but also the range of health professionals available who are able to respond to the needs of their patients.

We will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade to treat patients on time again.