Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on increasing the number of GP training places.

The number of doctors accepting a place on general practitioner (GP) speciality training has been increasing year on year. In 2019, 3,540 doctors accepted a place on GP specialty training against a target of 3,250, and a further 3,500 places are now being offered this year. From 2021, the Government is committed to funding the increase of GP training places to 4,000 a year.

The GP training model will also undergo significant reform, from 2022, to support better training for GPs, and a more balanced distribution of trainee capacity across the National Health Service as the proportion of time that GP trainees spend in general practice during their training will rise from 18 months to 24 months.