Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with GPs on the effect of e-consult on workload pressures.

We have regular discussions general practitioner (GP) stakeholder organisations and representatives on a wide range of issues, including appointment and consultation systems and workload.

We continue to work with NHS England and NHS Improvement and general practice to assess the impact of different types of appointment and the effects on workload. NHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned an independent evaluation to understand the impact for staff, patients and the wider health and care system of using digital tools in primary care to inform its long-term strategy.