§ 17. Mr. Cleggasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate he has made of the cost to the National Health Service of phasing out private medical practice.
§ Mr. MoyleAs facilities for private practice are withdrawn from NHS hospitals income will diminish, but appropriate adjustments have been made to health authorities' revenue allocations to compensate for this. As my right hon. Friend explained in the Second Reading debate on the Health Services Bill, we estimated the full cost of phasing out to be of the order of £20 million by 1980.