§ Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners in(a) the Ealing, North constituency and (b) the remainder of the London borough of Ealing are fundholders; how much cash is involved in each case; and if he will make a statement. [41770]
§ Mr. MaloneThe information available centrally for Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow family health services authority indicates that 67 general practitioners are fundholders. For further information, I refer my hon. Friend to Sir William Staveley, the chairman of North Thames regional health authority.
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§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral answer of 31 October,Official Report, column 90, if he will list the repeated independent assessments of the substantial savings and improved patient care achieved by general practitioner fundholders to which he referred. [41927]
§ Mr. MaloneConsiderable independent research into the general practitioner fundholding scheme has been carried out by a number of people and organisations—for example, Professor Howard Glennerster, Professor Julian Le Grand, Professor John Howie, the King's Fund, the National Audit Office and the Office of Economic Co-operation and Development.