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General Practitioners: Rural Areas

Asked by Ben GoldsboroughLabourDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 14 July 2026UIN 901009

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve GP services in rural areas.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock

This government is improving GP access across the country, including in rural communities.
Over the last two years, we have invested an extra £1.6 billion in general practice, recruited over 2,000 more GPs, and extended online services throughout core hours, helping deliver 12.7 million more appointments.
As a result, patient satisfaction with access is rising: 77% of patients now say it is easy to contact their GP, up 17 percentage points since July 2024.

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