Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance to GP practices on maintaining equitable access to care for patients who cannot use digital booking platforms in Surrey Heath constituency.

The General Practice contract requires that all patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, so those without digital access are not disadvantaged.

In February 2025, the General Practice Committee England agreed to make it a contractual obligation for all GP practices to offer access to online services throughout core hours (8:00am–18:30pm, Monday to Friday) bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. This will ensure that patients will not have to wait in long phone queues to contact their practice and ensure that those that are not able to use digital booking platforms have an improved user-experience.