Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of hours worked by GPs in the NHS; whether working hours are increasing; whether they intend to limit the number of hours worked; and what discussions they have had with doctors' organisations about GPs' working hours.

Based on responses to the GP Worklife Survey, the average weekly hours worked by general practitioners (GPs) in England has remained relatively stable since 2008, but increased slightly from 41.4 hours to 41.8 hours per week between 2015 and 2017.

The following table summarises statistics for average weekly hours worked by GPs from 2008 to 2017.

The Department regularly meets with the Royal College of General Practitioners and representatives from the profession to discuss a range of issues, including the number of hours worked by GPs. GP contractors are required to provide essential and additional services within core hours in order to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. It is for the practice partners to agree the working hours of individual GPs within the practice.

Any changes to these arrangements will need to be negotiated between NHS England and the GPs’ representative body, the General Practitioners’ Committee of the British Medical Association.

The working hours for salaried GPs are set out in the salaried GP model terms and conditions of service. This defines full-time as 37.5 hours per week, and specifies that working hours should be carefully defined within a job plan.