Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce a bursary scheme for people who train to be GP's and commit to a five year tenure in local surgeries.

We are considering a number of measures to increase the recruitment and retention of general practitioners (GPs) to deliver ourcommitment of 6,000 more doctors in general practice, but there are no current plans to introduce a bursary scheme for all people who train as GPs to commit to a five-year tenure in general practice.

The Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme (TERS) is an initiative that offers a one-off, salary supplement of £20,000 to GP trainees committed to working in a select number of training places in England that have been hard to recruit to for the past three years.

Trainees receive the TERS payment once they have signed an agreement to complete the three-year placement, with no relocation option. Should a trainee leave training before completing the three-year placement, they are required to make a pro-rata repayment of the supplement.

Further schemes that will support retention of early career GPs include the two-year Primary Care Fellowship Programme and the New to Partnership Payment, which will launch later in the year after a brief pause due to COVID-19. The New to Partnership Payment will offer new partners a £3,000 business training allowance and one-off payment of £20,000 to support their establishment as a new partner. NHS England and NHS Improvement envisage this loan will convert to a permanent payment after a minimum number of years of service. Further guidance will be published in due course.