§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the general practitioner contract in respect of(a) the extra workload on general practitioners required for assessment activities, and (b) the deprivation allowance to general practitioners so that it is more closely related to the Jarman deprivation index.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyWe do not see a need to review the general practitioner contract in these areas.
Any extra workload resulting from assessment activities is taken into account by the Doctors and Dentists Review Body when making its annual recommendation on general practitioners' pay.
The Government already use the Jarman index as the basis for delivery of deprivation payments to general practitioners. Our objective is to target payments on those practices that serve areas with the highest levels of deprivation.