§ 48. Mr. Scott-Hopkinsasked the Minister of Health how many applications for group practice building grants he has received within the area of the South-West Regional Hospital Board; and how many of these he has accepted or refused in the last 12 months.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonI take it the hon. Member is referring to group practice loans. On that assumption the Answer is 95, of which seven were approved and three refused in the last 12 months.
§ Mr. Scott-HopkinsI apologise for the fact that I referred to building grants. Will the Minister accept that conditions are extremely difficult to satisfy in some areas? Will he look into the matter again on these lines with the desire of increasing group practices?
§ Mr. RobinsonThis scheme may well be superseded under the new contract which I am negotiating with general practitioners, but the figures, even for the South-Western Region, hardly bear out what the hon. Member has said because 54 of the 95 applications were approved, 19 only were rejected, 16 withdrawn, and six are still under consideration.