§ Q1. Mr. FabricantTo ask the Prime Minister if he will meet a delegation of general practitioners from Lichfield to discuss the future of fundholding. [2202]
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major)Fundholders' views on developing the success of the scheme are always welcome. Any detailed recommendations will, of course, be considered.
§ Mr. FabricantI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his answer. Is he aware that every general practitioner in Lichfield will be a registered fundholder? The reason is that those GPs believe in the Conservative party's crusade for choice: they believe that it is right for them to be able to choose the consultant and the hospital that are right for them. Does my right hon. Friend realise that they are appalled at the Labour party's plan to abolish fundholding? Does that not give the lie to Labour's crusade for schools, which is evidently empty rhetoric—just another empty soundbite?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with my hon. Friend that GP fundholding has improved patient care and increased patient choice up and down the country. An increasing number of doctors are choosing to become fundholders, and I welcome that, in Lichfield as elsewhere.
There is, of course, all the difference in the world between a policy that genuinely believes in choice—as ours does in relation to both health and education—and one that believes in choice for marketing reasons. We saw an instance of that this morning.