Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the availability of Peer Supported Open Dialogue in the NHS.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There is no national policy specifically focused on implementing Peer Supported Open Dialogue.

The National Health Service follows evidence when implementing any approach at scale and will respond to any future changes in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. A research trial evaluating the impact of open dialogue in the NHS is due to report soon, at the following link:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-sciences/pals/research/clinical-educational-and-health-psychology/research-groups/oddessi/oddessi-trial

Nationally, we are committed to working with local NHS mental health providers to develop a new approach for mental health in 2026, including through the upcoming modern service framework for severe mental illness.

The Department is also supporting the development of the evidence base on mental health care through research and evaluation, including studies funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, to inform future decisions on effective models of care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support GPs who are the subject of a complaint arising from a specialist denying a person a face-to-face appointment.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As independent businesses who hold contracts with the National Health Service, general practices (GPs) are responsible for managing patient complaints relating to services delivered by their GP and the wider health system. In cases where specialist advice has been used, such as Advice and Guidance, and the outcome of the advice was that care management in GPs is clinically appropriate, the GP may still subsequently refer their patient again at any point if they have concerns. NHS England has published guidance for both primary care referrers and specialists to support effective use of Advice and Guidance.

For patients who have been under a specialist’s care, clinical governance procedures for the relevant provider will apply.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of GP practices are partner-run in (a) Broxtowe constituency, (b) the East Midlands and (c) England.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has advised that, within the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire clustered Integrated Care Board (ICB) boundary, 65 out of 81 practices, or 81%, in Lincoln are general practice (GP) partnership model practices. 115 out of 126 of practices, or 91%, in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are GP partnership model practices.

Within the NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB boundary, 115 out of 126 practices, or 90%, are GP partnership model practices. Within the Northamptonshire ICB boundary, 64 out of 65 practices, or 98%, are GP partnership model practices.

Within the NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB boundary, 99 out of 109 practices, or 89%, are traditional GP partnerships. The other 10, or 11%, are partner-run, but not in the traditional way. Of these:

- four are managed by Royal Primary Care, Chesterfield;

- four are managed by Derbyshire Community Health Services; and

- two are managed by Derbyshire Healthcare United.

In the Broxtowe constituency, 11 out of 11 practices are GP partnership model practices. The Department does not hold national-level data, however, we expect that a large majority of practices in England operate as traditional GP partnerships.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of GPs who are (a) unemployed and looking for work and (b) under-employed and looking for additional work in (i) Broxtowe constituency, (ii) the East Midlands and (iii) England.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The data requested is not held centrally. Thanks to actions taken by the Government, we have the highest number of fully qualified general practitioners (GPs) since 2015, and steps are being taken to grow the GP workforce further.

We are investing £485 million in GPs in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to over £13.8 billion. This builds on the £1.1 billion boost in investment in 2025/26. As part of the 2026/27 GP Contract, we are increasing flexibility of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) by removing the restriction that ARRS funding can only be used for recently qualified GPs, increasing the maximum reimbursement amount for GP roles to reflect experience, and enabling primary care networks to recruit a broader range of ARRS roles, where agreed with the commissioner.

Patient satisfaction is already rising after a decade of decline; in July 2024, only 61% of patients found it easy to access their GP. Currently, it is almost 77%.

Following feedback from the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation, we are introducing a practice-level GP reimbursement scheme which ring-fences and repurposes £292 million of funding from the current Capacity and Access Payment. This funding will be available to practices to hire additional GPs or fund additional sessions with existing GPs to improve access in GPs. This aims to strengthen capacity, access, and improve patient satisfaction, whilst also addressing GP unemployment and underemployment.

Found: Sarah Bool (Conservative, South Northamptonshire) (added 21 Oct 2024) 35 of 43 (81.4%)1 Juliet Campbell

Found: Liberal Democrat; Orkney and Shetland) (Chair) Sarah Bool (Conservative; South Northamptonshire) Juliet Campbell

The UK Government has set numerous goals related to habitat restoration under the Environmental Improvement Plan, much of which of hoped to be achieved through the Government’s Environmental Land Management Schemes. The Government has also set several ambitious targets through its housebuilding programme and plans for net zero energy generation.