§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to act on the findings and recommendations of the Audit Commission report "A Focus on General Practice in England". [172734]
§ Mr. Hutton"A Focus on General Practice in England" did not make recommendations. The findings of this baseline study of general practice undertaken during the negotiations between the NHS Confederation and the general practitioners committee of the British Medical Association for a new contract for general medical services did, however, inform those negotiations. The new contract that came into effect on 1 April will make sure that the money going into general practice matches the needs of patients, enable general practitioners to control their work load while incentivising high quality care; and the new quality and outcomes framework will ensure that all patients can benefit from the same high quality care.