Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has considered writing to every pension-age person to inform them they can phone or go in-person to book a GP appointment following the introduction of the online booking system on 1 October 2025.

The contractual change made on 1 October 2025 required general practices to keep their existing online systems open during core hours, allowing patients to contact the practice online between 8am and 6.30pm. Telephone and in-person routes continue to operate as before. As non-digital routes remain available, a separate assessment of the impact on digitally excluded patients was not required.

It is not a standard practice to write to citizens where services remain unchanged.

National Health Service organisations must ensure all patients have equitable access to care, and that decisions or policies do not unfairly disadvantage people or lead to an increase in inequalities. All NHS organisations are legally obliged not to discriminate. Although digital first services are encouraged for those who choose to use them, a non‑digital solution must be available for patients who cannot or do not wish to engage digitally. The GP contract is clear that telephone and face to face access must remain in place, and online tools can only be provided in addition to not instead of other routes.

These requirements apply across all NHS services. We recognise that not all patients can or want to use online services. To ensure that patients are not digitally excluded, 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 GP. We have also committed to work with digital transformation teams in integrated care boards (ICBs) and with groups at risk of digital exclusion to ensure digital solutions are inclusive.

Based on the data currently available, the time between booking and attending a GP appointment has remained stable following the introduction of the 1 October 2025 contractual requirement for online consultation systems to operate throughout core hours.

Data for October to December 2024 and the corresponding period in 2025 show only marginal variation. 37.9% to 46% of appointments were booked on the same day in 2024 compared with 38.7% to 46% in 2025, and 74.9% to 82.7% were seen within two weeks in 2024 compared with 75% to 82.8% in 2025. This is consistent with the fact that many practices were already operating their systems in this way prior to the contractual change. Access to general practice has continued to improve. In December 2025, 88.8% of appointments not usually booked in advance were seen within 14 days, the highest proportion in 2025. Nationally, patient satisfaction with GP access has also improved, rising from 61% in July 2024 to 75.2% in December 2025.