Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of high-density retirement housing schemes in rural areas that do not have corresponding funding for local healthcare infrastructure on demand for (a) GPs, (b) ambulances and (c) other NHS services.

The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and this means we require world class infrastructure across the NHS estate. We recognise the challenges that areas of significant housing and population growth can place on primary care infrastructure.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning, planning, securing, and monitoring health services within their system boundaries through delegated responsibility from NHS England. The NHS has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient medical services, including general practices, in each local area. It should take account of population growth and demographic changes associated with new retirement developments, alongside other housing growth.

Integrated care systems’ estates infrastructure strategies have been developed to create a long-term plan for future estate requirements and investment for each local area and its needs. These strategies help manage existing estates and take any future requirements into account when considering how best to deliver local services.