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GP Contract
16 March 2026
Lead MP
Stephen Kinnock
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
NHSEmployment
Other Contributors: 32
At a Glance
Stephen Kinnock raised concerns about gp contract in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
When we came into office, GP services were underfunded and understaffed. Since July 2024, the Government has invested over £100 million to improve GP surgeries, made online booking available nationwide, and recruited an additional 2,000 GPs. This investment has led to a reduction in elective waiting lists by diverting 1.3 million referrals since April 2025. The Carr-Hill formula review aims to address health disparities and ensure funding is targeted based on need. Last year's GP contract saw the largest cash increase in over a decade, with an additional £485 million invested this year, totalling more than £13.8 billion for the financial year. This new contract will enhance patient access by requiring same-day handling of clinically urgent requests and incentivising preventive care through better childhood vaccination rates and obesity management. These reforms are based on best practices from pioneering GP units across the country.
Question
The Health Secretary's team has perfected sales pitches for NHS reform but lacks details in implementation. 'Advice and guidance' seems to create an additional layer before referrals, potentially managing waiting lists by keeping patients in primary care instead of secondary care. Questions remain on the clinical definition of 'urgent', what constitutes a patient being 'dealt with' on the same day, and how practices will guarantee same-day responses without capped demand or published definitions.
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman is thanked for his questions. Advice and guidance has been successful, diverting 1.3 million referrals that would otherwise go to electives, providing a response within about 48 hours compared to longer out-patient appointments. Clinicians are trusted to decide on urgency based on their expertise, and patient satisfaction with access to GPs improved from 60% in July 2024 to 76%. Statistics show a significant improvement under the new contract.
Rachael Maskell
Lab
York Central
Question
The Minister mentioned the Carr-Hill formula review. York currently has the lowest funding, and it is crucial that the new formula works for areas like York which are not affluent.
Minister reply
The Carr-Hill review is ongoing with initial analysis by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, aiming to implement a revised formula from 1 April 2027. This will help ensure equitable funding based on need.
Helen Maguire
Lib Dem
Epsom and Ewell
Question
Welcomes the fact that the Government have adopted their policy of seeing clinically urgent patients on the same day, but patient safety has been put at risk by increasing workloads; 1 in 5 patients forced to wait two weeks for an appointment; the Health Foundation says an additional 6,500 GPs will be needed by 2031 and the Liberal Democrats would provide 8,000. What is the Minister doing to address the shortfall? Residents in Epsom and Ewell concerned that increased housing will make it harder to get a GP appointment; asks about funding for GP buildings.
Minister reply
On buildings, we have the £102 million primary care utilisation fund to refurbish GP practices. We are committed to delivering 120 new neighbourhood health centres by the end of this Parliament and 250 by 2035.
Helen Maguire
Lib Dem
Epsom and Ewell
Question
Welcomes Government’s focus on obesity crisis but notes it does not fix root cause. Aside from junk food ban, what steps are the Government taking to encourage children and young people to create active and healthy habits for life?
Calder Valley
Question
When this Government took office, number of registered patients per GP in Calder Valley was higher than national average; a GP surgery had 600 additional patients per GP. Will the Minister confirm that the funding will help practices in his constituency to recruit GPs they need?
Minister reply
Cannot pre-empt Carr-Hill review but we have system based on data often 25 years old; aiming to improve.
Andrew Murrison
Con
South West Wiltshire
Question
Welcomes nod to pressures on rural general practices in Carr-Hill process and improvement to many GP practices, but so many principals are throwing in the towel due to bureaucracy. What will be done to reduce administrative pressure on GPs?
Minister reply
Many of reforms we are pushing for in contract designed to reduce bureaucracy; embedding advice and guidance in the contract streamlines it.
Simon Opher
Lab
Holborn and St Pancras
Question
Declares interest as working GP in NHS, welcomes £485 million of extra funding and capacity and access money channelled back into emergency GP action; increases number of appointments and continuity of care by bringing back family doctor. May have some reassurance that processes of advice and guidance and referral mechanisms will not get in the way of Jess’s rule?
Minister reply
£292 million made available for advice and guidance is repurposed funding from capacity and access improvement payments; Jess’s rule remains fixed.
Gosport
Question
My constituents will welcome some of these headlines, such as clinically urgent cases being seen on the same day and more GPs but what is being done to help them? Stubbington surgery in my constituency has excellent staff but they are hampered by suboptimal buildings; need a new site but that is proving difficult. Can Minister give them any hope from this announcement?
Minister reply
If Member writes, will furnish her with response. We have primary care utilisation fund and neighbourhood health centre funding coming on stream.
Shefford
Question
Welcomes the welcome funding alongside the contract to hire 16,000 more GPs; however, in high-growth areas such as mine, it is often physical space rather than funding for GPs that constrains practices. Will Minister meet him to decide how they can work with their ICBs better?
Minister reply
More than happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss.
Gavin Williamson
Con
South Staffordshire
Question
In this country, we have immense wealth of talented young people who would love to train as doctors but over many decades not recruited enough; what more could be done to increase number of doctor placements so that they can rely less on recruiting from overseas?
Minister reply
Delivered 2,000 GPs and 1,600 FTEs through contract; invested £82 million in getting ARRS up and running.
Michelle Welsh
Lab
Newark
Question
Recently met people from Byron Primary Care Network who were clear about the pressures facing primary care. How will reforming GP contracts ensure that communities with a growing population can better access GP services? We have been waiting over 14 years for a GP practice in Hucknall.
Minister reply
Significant increase in number of GPs put on frontline; online access now dealing with the '8 am scramble'; commitment to neighbourhood health, with 120 new neighbourhood health centres by the end of this Parliament.
Steve Darling
Con
Maldon
Question
GPs are concerned about the global sum payment, suggesting it should be more than £200 per year but only £128 was announced. The Minister should advise on how to bridge this gap.
Minister reply
The uplift made to the contract includes £1.1 billion last year and £485 million this year, demonstrating significant investment in general practice along with more GPs, better online access and infrastructure.
Michael Payne
Con
Gedling
Question
The MP met representatives from a local medical practice who highlighted the need to invest in primary care to alleviate pressure on hospitals. He thanked all GPs and staff for their work and asked about government actions to improve GP services.
Minister reply
The Department has invested heavily, including £1.1 billion previously and an additional £485 million this year, with measures such as recruiting more GPs, improving online access, and focusing on prevention.
Rebecca Smith
Con
Crewe and Nantwich
Question
Concerns were raised about the new contract's requirement for same-day appointments for urgent requests without a clear definition of 'urgent', potentially affecting those with complex needs.
Minister reply
GPs will define urgency based on clinical criteria, emphasising that 46% of GP appointments are already urgent and happen on the day of contact.
Bolton North East
Question
The MP sought assistance to hold a failing partnership accountable despite documented failures, asking what more he can do beyond requesting resignation.
Minister reply
The Minister offered to look into the case if written correspondence is provided.
Alicia Kearns
Con
Ribble Valley
Question
Local doctors were hoping for more detail on family medicine, neighbourhood health centres and the 10-year plan. The MP asked when the guidance would be released.
Minister reply
The guidance is nearly complete and will be published soon, focusing on ensuring value for taxpayers and improving patient outcomes.
Helena Dollimore
Con
Hastings and Rye
Question
Acknowledging the challenges in GP appointments in her constituency, she welcomed reforms but asked about ensuring all constituents benefit from them.
Minister reply
The Minister agreed to look at the MP's survey once completed as a means of assessing performance delivery on the ground.
Tom Gordon
Con
Walsall South
Question
Concerning specific directions for spending outlined in the new contract, which may remove flexibility and cover costs, the Minister was asked how this aligns with trusting GPs.
Minister reply
The £80 million invested in advice and guidance has been successful, and embedding it in the contract provides more flexibility and high-level triage.
Jonathan Brash
Con
Hartlepool
Question
Citing his father's 33-year career as a GP, he questioned whether ensuring same-day urgent appointments would help keep treatment out of hospitals.
Minister reply
The Minister agreed that clinically urgent patients should get day-one treatment and embedding this in the contract provides transparency and commitment from all parties.
Question
Cambridgeshire receives an increasingly raw deal from the Carr-Hill formula due to demographic changes. With a new mega-ICB forming, could the Minister allay concerns about how this will affect Cambridgeshire?
Minister reply
We are implementing necessary changes for NHS efficiency and responsiveness. ICBs will consolidate back-office activities and focus on strategic commissioning to improve outcomes in population health.
Question
Welcoming the Government’s reforms, can the Minister visit Swanscombe health centre to discuss better integration of GP services into new developments like Ebbsfleet Garden City?
Minister reply
There is a disconnect in delivering social infrastructure with new developments. I am willing to meet and potentially visit Swanscombe to address these concerns.
Question
Blackburn has high deprivation and poor GP-to-patient ratio. Despite the intention of a needs-based funding formula, constituents struggle with appointment access. When will improvements be seen?
Minister reply
The outdated Carr-Hill formula is being reformed to base funding on need rather than outdated data. Satisfaction levels have risen from 60% to 76%, reflecting overall national improvement.
Question
Welcoming investment into GP practices, can the Minister clarify what capital investments are available for ICBs to shift from analogue to digital systems?
Minister reply
The Chancellor has increased funding for digital shifts in NHS. Practices experiencing issues should contact the Department of Health and Social Care directly.
Question
Concerned about GP incentives tied to prescribing specific branded drugs, what measures does the Department have to ensure clinical decisions are not influenced by financial considerations?
Minister reply
The Department closely monitors these issues and will take action if professional standards are compromised. Specific evidence of such practices should be reported.
Question
Engagement with ICBs on handling practice closures or GP contract returns in rural communities is needed to ensure continuity of care.
Minister reply
ICBs must anticipate and manage these issues proactively. Specific examples where this is lacking can be shared for review.
Question
How are GPs supported in prescribing exercise and healthy foods to prevent diseases? What provisions are there for the digitally excluded who cannot access online services?
Minister reply
Revised QOF incentivises childhood vaccination, obesity care, and lung cancer screening. Online access is improving through NHS app use, but three channels of walk-in, phone, and online remain essential.
Question
With the highest number of deep-end group GP practices in his constituency due to high deprivation levels, will targeted funding be provided for such areas?
Minister reply
Socioeconomic indicators are central to the Carr-Hill formula review. Targeted funding based on need is expected as part of these reforms.
Question
Many of the surgeries in my constituency have faced enormous pressure when having to deal with patients who cannot get an appointment, so I welcome the additional support that will come to our communities, especially inner-city communities. The Laurie Pike and al-Shafa medical centres in my constituency do so much work on prevention; I hope the Minister will join me in commending them on the work they do. Will there be ringfenced funding for preventive work in areas such as cardiovascular disease detection, respiratory illnesses and diabetes?
Minister reply
Please do pass on my thanks to the Laurie Pike and al-Shafa practices for the outstanding work they do. We are not really doing ringfencing; we are embedding prevention in the contract through the quality outcomes framework. Those incentives are the best way to give practices the flexibility they need while ensuring that they are clear about what we expect in terms of outcomes.
Question
I thank the Minister for his answers so far. One of the No. 1 issues that came up on the doorstep when I was canvassing across my constituency before the general election was same-day access to GPs. Although I recognise that there is still work to be done, I welcome the work the Labour Government and the Minister have done to improve GP access for constituents across Harlow. Does the Minister recognise that there is still more to be done? Will he touch a little on the importance that the shift from hospital to community will have for hospitals like mine, the Princess Alexandra hospital, and specifically the accident and emergency department?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is right: avoiding preventable admissions is right at the heart of what we are trying to achieve. Of course, we have challenges with delayed discharge—something like 14% of patients in hospital beds are medically fit for discharge—and if we look at the flow of patients through hospital, we see that we can address a lot of the problems at that end of the process by preventing avoidable admissions in the first place. The advice and guidance element of the contract is therefore very important, because it is by improving co-ordination and teamwork between primary care and secondary care that we will ensure that the 1.3 million people who would have ended up on the electives waiting list or going into outpatient clinics no longer need to be there—they will be dealt with by the teamwork between consultant specialists and GPs.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
I thank the Minister very much for his positive answers, and I thank the Minister and the Government for the giant steps they are taking to improve the NHS; we are encouraged by that. While the Government have rolled out major changes to the GP contract in England to improve access to same-day appointments, the situation in Northern Ireland, as he will know, is critical. Patients back home are struggling to get GP appointments, waiting times are long and workforce shortages are acute. I know from past questions that the Minister has a good working relationship with Mike Nesbitt, the Health Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly. What discussions has he had with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland to ensure that local GP services in Northern Ireland work in parallel with the new guidance in England so that patients are not left behind?
Minister reply
I thank the hon. Member for his kind words about the Government’s work. I do have an excellent relationship with the Minister in Northern Ireland. Devolution is vital to the Government, and we are certainly not in the business of trying to micromanage what is happening both across the regions of England and in the devolved nations of our United Kingdom, but it is clear that there should be learning in both directions. When I speak to the Northern Ireland Minister, we are clear that we want to see the best possible performance and outcomes right across our United Kingdom.
Tim Farron
Lib Dem
Westmorland and Lonsdale
Question
The beautiful and vibrant yet very isolated community of Coniston has had a GP practice for the last 200 years or so, but it runs the risk of losing it this year. Its GPs, who were wonderful, retired last summer and a caretaker service is being provided. Bids have been invited and there has been much interest, but no bid has been made. The reason is that the finances are really marginal at such a small surgery where people cannot go anywhere else. There is an answer, and I want to ask the Minister whether he might intervene and talk to the ICB to help us to get there. If the dispensing contract were to be let jointly with the GP contract, that would make it viable, and I know of GPs who would be interested if that were to happen. Will he talk to the ICB to ensure that that flexibility is applied so that we can save the surgery in Coniston for the next 200 years?
Minister reply
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. It would be deeply troubling if such an important service to the community were to be removed, so I would certainly be happy to speak to him. Perhaps he would like to write to me to provide more details. Looking to the medium to longer term, the review of the Carr-Hill formula could well end up benefiting communities such as the one he has mentioned, because remoteness and rurality will be an important factor in the Carr-Hill review, but I accept that that might be a bit too far off for what sounds like a more urgent issue. If he would like to write to me, I am sure we can look into that.
Shadow Comment
Luke Evans
Shadow Comment
The Health Secretary's team has perfected sales pitches for NHS reform but lacks details in implementation. The 10-year health plan and abolition of NHS England lack delivery chapters or price tags, and new referral pathways have not been named. 'Advice and guidance' seems to create an additional layer before referrals, potentially managing waiting lists by keeping patients in primary care instead of secondary care. Questions remain on the clinical definition of 'urgent', what constitutes a patient being 'dealt with' on the same day, and how practices will guarantee same-day responses without capped demand or published definitions. The shadow questions when the Government will publish these definitions and clarifications.
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