Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Neil O'Brien and Luke Hall

Tuesday 6th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Neil O’Brien]

We committed in our manifesto to increasing the number and availability of appointments by 50 million. We are well on our way to meeting that target, as I have mentioned—we had 10% more appointments in the year to April than in the year before the pandemic. That is the result of the additional staffing that we are putting in: the extra 29,000 other clinicians and the nearly 2,000 more doctors in general practice. We have made that investment, but the reason why GPs are doing more appointments is not just that we have provided a fifth more funding since 2017 up to 2021; it is also that GP teams are working incredibly hard, and I pay tribute to them for all they are doing.

[Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)]

11. What steps he is taking to provide funding for new hospitals and health centres.