Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution by the Prime Minister in response to the Leader of the Opposition on 2 April 2025, how 1,000 new GPs were recruited.

Previously, primary care networks were limited in how they could use their funding, but now they can hire recently qualified doctors through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), a practical solution which is boosting general practitioner (GP) numbers across the country.

Data on the number of recently qualified GPs for which primary care networks are claiming reimbursement via the ARRS was published by NHS England on 7 April 2025. Since 1 October 2024, 1,503 GPs were recruited through the scheme.

The recruitment boost, part of the Government’s Plan for Change, will help to ease pressure on GPs and cut waiting times. Alongside changes to the GP Contract for 2025/26, these additional GPs will help end the 8.00am scramble for appointments which so many patients currently endure every day.