§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money was discharged to general practice under the Golden Hello scheme up to and including 16 November. [16845]
§ Mr. HuttonWe concluded consultation with the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association on the detail of the scheme on 1 November and issued guidance to health authorities and primary care trusts the following day.
Entitlement is backdated to 1 April 2001 so that any general practitioner who has taken up an eligible post on or after that date qualifies for a payment.
Most payments are being made by health authorities from the national general medical services non-cash-limited budget and the next quarterly monitoring data on that budget are not due until January. We expect, however, expenditure on this new scheme to exceed £10 million this year.