To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase the number of full-time equivalent GPs in England; and will he make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the plan to provide an additional 5,000 full-time equivalent GPs in England by 2020; and if will he make a statement.

In 2015 the Government set the ambitious target to recruit 5,000 additional general practitioners (GPs) by 2020. This was double the growth rate of previous years, but it showed a commitment to growing a strong and sustainable general practice for the future.

NHS England and Health Education England (HEE) are working together with the profession to increase the GP workforce. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why GPs are leaving the profession, and encourage GPs to return to practice.

The number of doctors entering speciality training has been increasing year on year, this year HEE recruited the highest number of GP trainees ever - 3,473 GP trainees against a target of 3,250, a 10% increase on last year.

In the short term, NHS England’s International GP Recruitment programme is bringing suitably qualified doctors from overseas to work in English general practice. There is also a broad offer to support GPs to remain in the National Health Service including the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the GP Health Service and the Releasing Time to Care Programme. It is also now quicker and easier for GPs to return to the NHS through the National Induction and Refresher Scheme.

Greater skill mix is also key to releasing capacity in general practice. We have committed to investment in the multidisciplinary workforce in general practice. As of June 2018, there were over 3,000 clinical staff, excluding GPs, working in general practice since 2015; consisting of 500 more nurses and 2,800 more other direct patient care.