Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the creation of fake Digital IDs.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK’s digital ID scheme will be built to the highest security standards, following National Cyber Security Centre guidance.
To help guard against fake digital IDs, we propose that any checking of such IDs will be done via a robust digital process. For example, we do not think people should be able to ‘flash’ their digital ID on their phone screen.
This will help ensure a digital ID has not been faked, tampered with or revoked.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make additional funding available to open GP surgeries in areas designated for New Towns.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In May, we announced schemes which will benefit from the £102 million Utilisation and Modernisation Fund (UMF) to deliver upgrades to a thousand general practice (GP) surgeries across England this financial year. Building on this, the Government has committed £426 million of UMF funding over the next four years to continue upgrading the GP estate and to support refurbishing the existing estate to deliver neighbourhood health centres over this Parliament as part of the 10-Year Health Plan commitment.
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning, including planning, securing, and monitoring GP services, within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. The National Health Service has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient medical services, including GPs, in each local area. It should take account of population growth and demographic changes.
Whilst we have big ambitions to further boost house building, we recognise the challenges that significant housing and population growth can place on primary care infrastructure. The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government to determine how developer contributions from new housing developments can be better used towards local health services and infrastructure, including for new towns.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2025 to written question 79814, if he will publish minimum service expectations for rural communities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As noted in the answer of 16 October 2025 to Question 79814, we expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. We will share further guidance to support systems, including those in rural areas, to shift to a Neighbourhood Health Service.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide a list of new GP surgeries which have opened in the last decade in England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data provided shows the number of general practices (GPs) that opened, at 74, and that closed, at 15, between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2026 in England.
If a practice ceases to be a main practice and becomes a branch practice of another, this will count as a “closure” in this data, while in reality GP provision at the site may well have continued under the new head practice.
Practices close for a variety of reasons, including mergers or retirement, and so closure does not necessarily indicate a reduction in the provision of services. When a practice does close, patients are informed of the closure and advised to register at another local practice of their choice within their area. Commissioners are accountable for ensuring that patients have access to a GP. In the event of a closure, commissioners will assess the need for a replacement provider before transferring patients to alternative practices.
The table attached shows a list of new GP surgeries which have opened in the last decade in England.