FOI reference: FOI-2025-3136
You asked
Please provide for the years 2018 to 2024, the total number of GP registrations and the total number of registrations which were Flag 4 (previous address overseas).
If possible, I would be grateful if you could provide this information by year and, ideally, by local authority as well.
We said
Thank you for your request.
Unfortunately, we do not hold data on general practitioner registrations.
Flag 4 is a variable within the Patient Registration Data System (PRDS) managed by the NHS and is attributed to individuals who register with a GP in England or Wales where their previous address was overseas.
NHS England holds data on the numbers of patients registered at a GP practice at the start of each month in Patients Registered at a GP Practice publication which holds data from April 2013 to September 2025 currently. It is available at different geographies including quarterly releases at LSOA level.
NHS England may be better placed to answer your query. They can be contacted via email at england.contactus@nhs.net
Stats Wales holds quarterly data on General Practice Populations from April 2020 and April 2025, with annual figures from 2016. This data is available at GP practice level, primary care clusters, local health boards and LSOA.
Welsh Government may be better suited to answer your request and can be contacted via stats.healthinfo@gov.wales
Public Health Scotland hold quarterly GP registration numbers within the General Practice Data publication, which has data from January 2015 to July 2025.
Public health Scotland may be better placed to answer your query. They can be contacted at foi@nrscotland.gov.uk
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) holds quarterly data on GP practice list sizes from July 2015 and July 2025. This data is available at GP practice level, primary care clusters, local health boards and LSOA.
NISRA may be better placed to answer your query and can be contacted at info@nisra.gov.uk or to place a freedom of information request with NISRA please contact the Department of Finance at foi@finance-ni.gov.uk