PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(28 August 2026)

Advice and Guidance (A&G) is a longstanding policy which helps primary care clinicians and patients receive quicker access to specialist advice. Since the Government came to office, the A&G model has supported over three million patients to receive care in the right place without having to join elective waiting lists.

Alongside an extra 2,000 general practitioners (GPs) since the Government entered office, A&G is helping more patients to receive timely and appropriate care in primary and community settings. Together, this is one of the reasons that more than three quarters of patients are now reporting a ‘good’ overall experience with their GP.

Nevertheless, under A&G, the clinical threshold for a referral remains unchanged, and GPs should continue to make a clinical decision to refer for specialist care where that is in the patient’s best interest. We will continue to assess the safety of A&G and support providers to implement it effectively. We have commissioned an evaluation to understand the impact of A&G and producing templates for providers to use.