Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to upgrade diagnostic equipment in GP surgeries across England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

It is for individual GP practices to ensure that their diagnostic equipment is fit for purpose.

The majority of GP Practices receive funding through three main income streams:

- Global Sum – covering the costs of running a general practice, including some essential GP services. This is calculated using the Carr-Hill formula that takes into account, for example, patient demographics, rurality and deprivation factors.

- The Quality and Outcome Framework (QOF), an optional incentive scheme for GPs.

- Enhanced services, setting out additional services that practices can choose to provide.

Additional payments are also made to practices, for example, seniority payments as well as payments associated with costs of providing premises.

Practices are then responsible for meeting the costs of their business, including funding and maintaining any equipment they may need.