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 support patients without access to the internet to get appointments with GPs.

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

We understand that not all patients have access to or want to use online services. The GP Contract is clear that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, and all online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a general practice (GP).

The 2026/27 GP Contract includes a new requirement for practices to enable online appointment requests throughout the duration of core opening hours, which will ease pressure on phone lines for people who prefer to telephone.

We are also improving capacity in GPs. We have invested £160 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of over 2,000 individual GPs into primary care networks across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients. As a result, we have successfully delivered an additional 8.3 million GP appointments for patients compared to the same period last year, meaning more patients are getting the support they need, when they need it.

The Office for National Statistics’ Health Insight Survey from March 2026 shows that 73.7% of patients reported it was “easy” to contact their GP, up from 60.9% in July 2024.