§ Mr. Welshasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what aid, financial or otherwise, she can give to general practioners now faced with heavy increases in expenditure due to recent rises in General Post Office charges for telephone diversion calls;
(2) what estimate he has made of the average increase in general practitioners' expenses caused by the recent rises in General Post Office charges for telephone diversion calls.
§ Dr. OwenPractice expenses incurred by general practitioners in running their NHS practices are reimbursed either directly or on an averaged basis through fees and allowances at rates recommended by the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body. Telephone charges are amongst those reimbursed on an averaged basis. I regret that information is not available for estimating the average increase in practice expenses caused by the rise in the charges for telephone diversion calls, but the Department is making further enquiries. The Post Office is preparing a guide to doctors on the various services available to them including alternative means of diverting calls which might be less expensive, and will give priority to doctors whenever possible in the supply of alternative equipment.