Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what obligations NHS England - South (South East) have to consult local councils before closing a GP list.

Alistair Burt, Minister of State for Community and Social Care: There is no specific requirement to engage with local authorities in regards to applications to close a general practitioner (GP) surgery, however, NHS England consider any discussions the practice concerned has had with its existing patients about the matter and the views of other local GP practices who may be impacted.

Practices can apply to NHS England to temporarily halt new patient registrations if they are facing immediate challenges in providing patient services in order to give them the opportunity to take action to resolve these issues and so that they can continue to provide safe, good quality care to their existing patients.

When NHS England receives a request to formally close a GP practice list over a longer period, they consider both the impact on patients as well as on neighbouring practices and services to avoid displacing a problem elsewhere.

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