Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the impact that mandating extended online consultation use at GP surgeries will have on the availability of face-to-face appointments.

No formal assessment has been undertaken of the impact that mandating extended use of online consultations will have on the availability of face‑to‑face appointments.

Between November and December 2025, the number of online consultations fell by approximately 175,000, despite contract changes introduced in October 2025 to align online consultation hours with telephone and reception access. Over the same period, the proportion of appointments delivered face‑to‑face has remained stable. In December 2025, 61.5% of all appointments were conducted in person with a healthcare professional, a decrease of 2.5% compared with December 2024.

Practices already using online systems have seen significant improvements. One London general practice surgery reduced waits from 14 days to just three, with 95% of patients seen within a week.