Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the merits of reforming GP licensing; and whether he will make it his policy to protect GPs from unaffordable costs when a practice fails financially.

Most general practices (GPs) are run by general, unlimited liability partnerships. Limited liability partnerships are currently not permitted as business vehicles for General Medical Services or Personal Medical Services contractors. However, limited companies can be used to manage financial risks in a partnership. GP partnerships may also manage liabilities through indemnities and different forms of insurance. As independent contractors and small business owners, these are decisions for GP partners to make, with legal and accounting advice.

We have committed to substantive GP Contract reform within this Parliament following acceptance of the 2025/26 contract by the General Practitioners Committee England. As part of this, we expect to consider a breadth of topics, which may include updates to the partnership model.

We are investing an additional £889 million in GPs, to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service and to bring back the family doctor, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and means we are reversing the recent trend by allocating a rising share of total NHS resources to GPs.