Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many fully qualified GPs have been recruited since the general election (1) under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, and (2) through any other route; and whether they have set a target for the number of full-time equivalent GPs per 1,000 population in England.

Information on the number of recently qualified general practitioners (GPs) for which primary care networks are claiming reimbursement via the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme is currently being collated. We are working to verify the data and establish its reliability, which is necessary before any dataset can be published. Between 31 July 2024 and 30 November 2024, the headcount of fully qualified GPs increased by 831.

There is no NHS England recommendation for how many patients a GP should have assigned, or the ratio of GPs or other practice staff to patients. The demands each patient places on their GP are different and can be affected by many different factors, including rurality and patient demographics. It is necessary to consider the workforce for each practice as a whole, not only GPs but also the range of health professionals available who are able to respond to the needs of their patients.