Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has his Department made of the potential impact of ICB mergers on continuity and access in rural and semi-rural areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Across larger integrated care board (ICB) footprints there will be a renewed focus on the local level as part of our commitment to delivering care closer to home, and this includes rural and semi rural areas. As outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan, neighbourhood health plans will be created and will be brought together as part of the ICBs’ plans to improve population health locally.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are his department taking to ensure the that upcoming GP Connect requirements support confidentiality and data integrity.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
GP Connect helps clinicians to gain access to general practice (GP) patient records during interactions away from a patient’s registered practice and makes their medical information available to appropriate health and social care professionals when and where they need it, to support the patient’s direct care. From a privacy, confidentiality, and data protection perspective, GP Connect provides a method of secure information transfer and reduces the need to use less secure or less efficient methods of transferring information, such as email or telephone.
Access to GP Connect is governed by role-based access and organisational controls, and only people who need to see the GP patient record for a patient’s direct care should be able to see it. Data integrity is ensured by the GP Connect Application Programming Interface sharing an accurate, consistent, and real time complete copy of specific data held in the source GP record. All systems that allow the use of GP Connect must undergo a robust compliance process.
All organisations applying to use GP Connect must comply with the National Data Sharing Arrangement (NDSA) and end-user agreement that sets out their responsibilities and confidentiality obligations. Further information is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/services/gp-connect/national-data-sharing-arrangement-for-gp-connect
The NDSA and its terms and conditions stipulate that any information received or accessed about a patient for direct care purposes must remain confidential.
NHS England has published a Privacy Notice and a Data Protection Impact Assessment for GP Connect, which can be found, respectively, at the following two links:
https://digital.nhs.uk/services/gp-connect/gp-connect-in-your-organisation/gp-connect-privacy-notice
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanisms will ensure accountability for primary care outcomes within merged ICBs, particularly where decision-making is centralised elsewhere.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Oversight Framework will continue to provide the approach to assessing integrated care boards, including in relation to primary care.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that smaller systems, such as Gloucestershire, do not lose visibility or influence within larger merged ICBs which include urban centres.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Across larger integrated care board (ICB) footprints there will be a renewed focus on the local level as part of our commitment to deliver care closer to home. As outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan, neighbourhood health plans will be created, including for Gloucestershire, and will be brought together as part of the ICBs’ plans to improve population health locally.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the adequacy of the GP Contract at reflecting (a) increases in demand, (b) inflation and (c) additional responsibilities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practices (GPs) are valued independent contractors who provide over £13 billion worth of National Health Services. Every year we consult with the profession about what services GPs provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract, taking into account demand and the cost of delivering services.
We have started the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation, and we look forward to listening to a range of stakeholders to help strengthen policy making, ensuring that GPs work for staff and patients.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of offering free flu vaccines to (a) charity and (b) voluntary workers on the health of vulnerable people.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Eligibility for a free National Health Service flu vaccine is guided, each year, by advice and recommendations from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and is kept under regular review. The aim of the flu vaccination programme is to protect those most at risk from serious illness and hospitalisation.
Those eligible to receive a free flu vaccine on the NHS this autumn are:
The NHS website contains further information on eligibility, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/flu-vaccine/
Anyone who feels unsure about their eligibility (including those who work with vulnerable people in a voluntary capacity) can consult their general practitioner, practice nurse, or pharmacist. Pregnant women can also consult their midwife.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department made of the potential impact of unlimited online consultations, introduced in the new GP contract, on the ability of GPs to meet patient demand.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In February 2025 the GPCE agreed to make it a contractual obligation for all GP practices to offer access to online services throughout core hours (8:00am - 18:30pm), bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. To support practices in preparing for this transition and to ensure they had sufficient time to make the necessary adjustments, the start date was deferred to 1 October 2025.
This change aims to improve patient access, reduce long phone queues, and help general practitioners manage demand more effectively. Experience suggests that extending online access offers significant benefits to both patients and practices. With more patients using online options, phone lines will be less busy and will open up availability for those who need additional help or more urgent care.
We understand that practices require additional resource to deliver services to their patients. That is why we have invested £1.1 billion into general practice: £160 million of this to expand the GP workforce (adding 2,000 more GPs since October 2024), and £102 million to create more clinical space which will enable the delivery of 8.3 million extra appointments.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of unlimited online consultations on the ability of GPs to meet patient demand.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
From 1 October, we extended access to general practice (GP) online services throughout core hours, which are from 8:00am to 18:30pm. According to the Office for National Statistics, for the first time ever, more patients are contacting their GP online rather than by phone, at 42.3% and 41.3% respectively. For GPs already offer online services, we are asking them to extend this service throughout core hours to bring online access in line with walk-in and phone access. GPs already using online systems have seen big improvements. One London GP surgery reduced waits from 14 days to just three, with 95% of patients seen within a week. The National Health Service continues to support those practices needing assistance with implementing these changes.
We understand that practices require additional resource to deliver services to their patients. That’s why we have invested £1.1 billion into GPs, with £160 million of this to expand the GP workforce, which has added 2,000 more GPs since October 2024, and £102 million to create more clinical space which will enable the delivery of 8.3 million extra appointments.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider reviewing the geographical areas within which resident doctors are expected to relocate during specialty training.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of location stability for doctors in training and the impact that frequent relocations can have on wellbeing, retention, and workforce planning.
A review into postgraduate medical training is already underway. The first phase of the review has now concluded, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/the-medical-training-review-phase-1-diagnostic-report/
The next phase of the review will involve working with a wide range of stakeholders across the system to design a package of reform.
Alongside this review, a review of rotational training is currently in progress and is being led by the Department, along with NHS England and the British Medical Association.
NHS England’s 10 Point Plan to improve resident doctors’ working lives, published on 29 August, contains a commitment to reduce the impact of rotations upon resident doctors’ lives while maintaining service delivery. Further information can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/10-point-plan-to-improve-resident-doctors-working-lives/
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the capacity of GP services in Gloucestershire to meet patient demand.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are expanding capacity in general practice, enabling more appointments for patients both nationally and in Gloucestershire.
Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board has achieved a 6.4% increase in appointments delivered in general practice since 2024, with 398,000 appointments provided in September 2025 compared to 374,000 in September 2024.
In October 2024, we invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of an additional 2,500 GPs into Primary Care Networks across England. This has helped to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients. We have invested an additional £1.1 billion in general practice to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service which was the biggest increase in over a decade. Additionally, we have invested £102 million into the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund which will create additional clinical space within over 1,000 GP practices across England and will help deliver more appointments each year.