GP Contract

Adnan Hussain Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Kinnock]

Hon. Members raise this issue with me regularly. There seems to be something of a disconnect when new developments are being built, whereby the section 106 agreement or the community infrastructure levy just do not seem to be delivering the social infrastructure that they should be delivering. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that in relation to the specific case he raises. Then, of course, we could discuss the possibility of a visit.

[Mr Adnan Hussain (Blackburn) (Ind)]

Blackburn is one of the most deprived towns in the country, and the health inequalities are stark. Despite that, Blackburn has the third-highest patient to GP ratio in the UK. While I welcome the Government’s intention to move towards a needs-based funding formula, the satisfaction statistics to which the Minister refers simply do not reflect what is felt by my constituents. In recent weeks, I have had constituents say that it has been almost impossible to obtain a GP appointment, whether online or via the phone. When will residents in my constituency see the difference that he refers to?

[Stephen Kinnock]

I think the first part of the hon. Member’s question is connected to the second part, because, as he correctly points out, thanks to the 14 years of neglect and incompetence that we saw, the Carr-Hill formula became a very anachronistic way of sharing funding. It should be based on need, but it was based on very outdated statistics and data. We are fixing that, and the changes that we are making will be felt by his constituents. It is disappointing to hear that he has had that feedback, because it does not reflect the nationwide polling from the Office for National Statistics, which shows that satisfaction with access, which was languishing at 60% in July 2024, now stands at 76%.