§ Mr. Allan StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will indicate the basis on which deprived area supplements to basic practice allowance for Scottish general medical practitioners will be paid when the new contract comes into force on 1 April.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThese payments will be made on the basis of an index devised by Professor Brian Jarman. Professor Jarman has recently revised his index to take account of the most up-to-date Scottish information available. The payments will be made at three levels: the lowest for index scores of 30–39, the next for 40–49 and the highest for scores of over 50. A total of 11.4 per cent. of the Scottish population live in postcode sectors with index scores of over 30. I am setting up a committee drawn from various interests to monitor the implementation of these payments.