Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

General Practice: Large Housing Developments

29 March 2022 · 14 other contributors · 13,633 words

Opened by Andrew Selous Con South West Bedfordshire

Responding minister: Stuart Andrew

HousingNHS

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Andrew Selous raised concerns about general practice: large housing developments in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Concerns raised about strain on GP services due to large-scale housing developments in constituencies.
  • Proposed solution includes guaranteed primary care health funding for each 1,000 new homes at the time planning permission is granted.
  • Minister acknowledges the debate as important and wide ranging, thanking the member for securing it.

Key requests to Government

I propose guaranteed primary care health funding for each 1,000 new homes allocated at the time planning permission is granted and delivered as the new residents arrive. I urge the Government to convene a Cabinet Sub-Committee involving the Treasury, Department of Health and Social Care, and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to address this issue once and for all.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Andrew Selous Con South West Bedfordshire

I am concerned about the strain on GP services due to large-scale housing developments. Despite a third more GP appointments being delivered between September and November 2021 compared to the same period in 2019, many constituents still struggle to get timely appointments at their local surgeries. My constituency has fewer GPs, practice nurses, and direct patient care staff per 10,000 patients than the averages for England and the east of England. The projected increases in primary care staff will not be enough to bring my constituency up to average levels, and no figures for future GP recruitment are available from the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). I have received complaints that access to healthcare is inadequate despite massive expansion in Leighton Buzzard over the past 20 years. In Norwich North, wave 4b CCG funding will provide an extension for one local surgery but not enough to accommodate the population increase.

Other contributors (14)
  • Cherilyn Mackrory Con Truro and Falmouth

    Emphasised the need to increase provision of affordable housing while ensuring new developments are supported by health infrastructure. Highlighted the Langarth Garden Village development in Cornwall, which includes a new health hub with GPs, dentists, pharmacies, and diagnostic services. Noted challenges such as GP shortages due to lack of housing for key workers.

  • David Johnston Con Wantage

    Mr Johnston highlighted significant growth in his constituency, with major towns such as Didcot and Wantage set to increase by 42% and 59%, respectively. He pointed out the strain on GP appointments due to population growth, citing a specific example of a surgery that had to close its books because it could not accommodate more patients. Mr Johnston emphasised the lack of accountability for delivering promised GP surgeries in new housing developments.

  • Gavin Williamson Con Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge

    My hon. Friend called for a more robust approach from Government and local authorities towards developers to ensure that they pay for necessary resources, not leaving the NHS and communities to bear the cost. Questioned the Minister about how many planning applications have been rejected due to insufficient health capacity or GP provision over the last year or two years. Suggested that if the number is zero, it sends a negative message to developers.

  • Jane Hunt Con Charnwood

    Ms Jane Hunt expressed frustration over the mismatch between GP contracts and planning law, highlighting issues in her constituency where housing developments have outpaced healthcare infrastructure. She cited specific examples such as Shepshed and west Loughborough, noting a lack of GP surgeries to support new residents. Ms Hunt also raised concerns about risks involved for GPs starting or extending surgeries and the need for cultural change towards alternative medical professionals.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Supports the debate on large housing developments and their impact on GP services. Raises issues with current practices, including a specific case of poor service provision to a vulnerable patient. Advocates for better planning processes that consider healthcare needs alongside housing development. Highlights an initiative in Newtownards aimed at integrating various health services within existing premises but opposed by local planners.

  • Kevin Brennan Lab Cardiff West

    I agree with Andrew Selous that the system is broken. He mentioned a constituent who wrote about access to healthcare in Leighton Buzzard, but the reality on the ground shows that GP practices are able to cope and often exceed expectations.

  • Kevin Foster Con Wirral West

    Andrew Selous is absolutely right. We need a system that delivers the necessary infrastructure for health, education, transport, and all other essential services as new housing developments are approved.

  • Matthew Pennycook Lab Greenwich and Woolwich

    He praised the debate's value in addressing an important issue, highlighting concerns about the lack of progress on large-scale housing developments that fail to deliver necessary social infrastructure. He emphasized the need for a planning system that supports up-front infrastructure investment before new residents move in and stressed the inadequacy of current measures like the housing infrastructure fund. Asked the Minister to name the legislative vehicle by which the new infrastructure levy will be introduced.

  • Richard Fuller Con North Bedfordshire

    Mr Fuller raised concerns about the rapid population growth in his constituency, which is growing at a rate five times the national average. He highlighted issues related to sustainable housing development and service provision such as school places and GP services. Mr Fuller also thanked the Minister for addressing unreasonable targets in the Ox-Cam arc area and requested further meetings with the Department of Health and Social Care regarding GP access improvements.

  • Rob Butler Con Aylesbury

    Discussed the challenges of GP services and infrastructure in Aylesbury due to extensive housing development over the past five decades, citing a recent surge of more than 16,000 new homes since 2000 with an additional 16,000 planned. Emphasised the need for adequate healthcare provision including GP surgeries, paramedics, pharmacists, and nurses in line with housing developments.

  • Robbie Moore Con Keighley and Ilkley

    Mr Robbie Moore highlighted the frustration of his constituents regarding GP service access, noting a significant correspondence volume on this issue. He emphasised the strain large housing developments place on healthcare services without adequate provision for additional GPs or facilities. Citing Bradford Council's draft local plan to increase house numbers by 3,000 across Keighley and Ilkley, he illustrated specific areas where new housing will exacerbate existing service capacity issues.

  • Sara Britcliffe Con Don Valley

    I agree with Andrew Selous's points about the importance of health infrastructure for large housing developments. I have constituents in Rotherham and Doncaster who are concerned about access to primary care services.

  • Steve McCabe Lab Birmingham Selly Oak

    I support Andrew Selous's call for guaranteed health funding. The system needs to change so that every home has an adequate level of healthcare provision, whether it is a new build or an existing property.

  • Theresa Villiers Con

    Theresa Villiers questioned whether offering new premises by developers would solve the shortage of qualified GPs, highlighting that without sufficient doctors, the problem persists despite available facilities. Pays tribute to GPs in her constituency and criticises planning committees for struggling to reject applications despite insufficient GP capacity. Proposes a threefold solution: making housing targets advisory, decoupling planning decisions from five-year land supply requirements, and accelerating efforts to recruit more family doctors.

Government Response

Stuart Andrew

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I offer my hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) my congratulations and thanks for securing this important debate. As the hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Matthew Pennycook) said, it has been useful and wide ranging. My hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Jane Hunt) mentioned being kind to the staff at GP practices, which is an important message to relay. Local plans are a way for areas to develop the communities they need, providing certainty for communities, businesses and developers. An effective and up-to-date plan is essential not only to meet an area's housing requirements but to create well-designed and attractive places to live with the services that people need on their doorstep. The national planning policy framework states that local plans should aim for sustainable development, factoring in new schools, hospitals and GP practices from the outset. The community infrastructure levy and section 106 agreements help create funding for housing and local infrastructure needs. I recognise there is an issue about which we need to do more. We are exploring the introduction of a new infrastructure levy to replace the existing system of developer contributions, maximising land value and bringing greater certainty on costs. Local authorities would be allowed to borrow against infrastructure levy revenues so that they could bring forward vital improvements to services before the first spade of development even hits the ground. We need a faster, more responsive planning system fit for the modern age, embracing digital technology to encourage residents to voice their views on what is being built in their community. Communities and neighbourhoods should shape the places in which they live so that we have beautiful places with the necessary infrastructure and democratic systems considering environmental improvements. I have heard loud and clear the concerns of hon. Members about the frustration of constituents when large-scale new developments are greenlit and local services become increasingly congested. I intend to go much further by creating a more streamlined, smoother planning system that levels up infrastructure and local services in every part of the country.

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