Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer to Written Question 26150 on General Practitioners: Bedfordshire, what assessment he has made of the impact of rurality on on a GPs workload.

We acknowledge the urgent challenge of ensuring rural areas, including Bedfordshire, have the resources to continue serving their patients. We are committed to training thousands more GPs across the country, including in rural areas. We have also committed to recruiting over 1,000 newly qualified GPs in 2024/25 through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, which will increase capacity, secure the future pipeline of GPs, and alleviate the pressure on those currently working in the system.

Through the Red Tape Challenge, we are also determined to bulldoze bureaucracy and cut red tape, ensuring GPs spend less time filling in forms and more time caring for patients. We recognise it is vital for roles to be satisfying, rewarding, and sustainable, so that our experienced GPs continue to contribute throughout their career.