Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many sick notes have been issued by GPs in the last 12 months.

The sick note was replaced by the fit note in 2010. Since 2022, fit notes can be issued by doctors, registered nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists.

The latest data published by NHS England shows that out of the 10,974,495 fit notes issued electronically in primary care in England between January and December 2024, 9,898,344 were issued by general practitioners (GPs). This means that GPs issued 90.2% of these fit notes.

Data is only available for fit notes issued electronically within primary care in England, meaning that paper fit notes or fit notes issued in hospitals are not included in these figures. The published statistics can be found at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/fit-notes-issued-by-gp-practices

Updated figures will be published by NHS England on 23 October and will provide fit note data up to June 2025.