PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(15 July 2025)
Question Asked
Asked by:
Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat)
Answer
The following table shows the number of general practice (GP) partners nationally, both full time equivalent (FTE) and as a headcount, as of March in each of the last 10 years:
GP partners | ||
Year | FTE | Headcount |
March 2016 | 21,523 | 24,060 |
March 2017 | 20,595 | 23,088 |
March 2018 | 19,810 | 22,402 |
March 2019 | 19,030 | 21,640 |
March 2020 | 18,130 | 20,814 |
March 2021 | 17,327 | 20,096 |
March 2022 | 16,957 | 19,766 |
March 2023 | 16,599 | 19,358 |
March 2024 | 16,143 | 18,889 |
March 2025 | 15,599 | 18,309 |
In addition, the following table shows the number of salaried GPs nationally, both FTE and as a headcount, as of March in each of the last 10 years:
Salaried GPs | ||
Year | FTE | Headcount |
March 2016 | 7,080 | 10,558 |
March 2017 | 7,469 | 11,166 |
March 2018 | 7,902 | 11,952 |
March 2019 | 8,310 | 12,719 |
March 2020 | 8,684 | 13,446 |
March 2021 | 9,567 | 15,014 |
March 2022 | 9,828 | 15,349 |
March 2023 | 9,808 | 15,444 |
March 2024 | 10,511 | 16,763 |
March 2025 | 11,801 | 18,866 |
Notes:
- the data does not include estimates for practices that did not provide fully valid staff records;
- FTE refers to the proportion of full time contracted hours that the post holder is contracted to work. One would indicate they work a full set of hours, 37.5 hours, 0.5 that they worked half this time. For GPs in training grade contracts, one FTE equals 40 hours, and in these tables, these FTEs have been converted to the standard Workforce Minimum Data Set measure of one FTE being equal to 37.5 hours for consistency; and
- to compile a complete time series covering 10 years, we’ve used data starting from March 2016, as the most recent numbers wouldn’t allow for the full range. Also, data for March 2015 is unavailable.
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