§ Mr. David Priceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to section 7 of the National Health Service Act 1966, what rate of interest the Government expect the General Practice Finance Corporation to charge general practitioners who borrow from the corporation; whether the rate of interest is fixed at the time a loan is made or whether it fluctuates with minimum lending rate; and what are the normal terms for repayment of the principal.
§ Mr. Denzil Davies, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 24th July 1978], gave the following information:
The General Practice Finance Cororation borrows the money it lends doctors from the National Debt Commissioners on long-term fixed interest loans guaranteed by the Treasury.
As an independent statutory body the corporation is responsible for determining its own charges. In practice, these are fixed rates related to the rates of interest holding at the time a mortgage is taken out, plus an addition of 1½ per cent. for administrative costs, provisions for bad debts etc.
687WThe mortgage repayment period may be up to 20 years—some are far shorter—but all loans have to be repaid before the doctor's or, for a group, the youngest doctor's, 65th birthday.