§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of his speech to the Royal Society of Health in April that he proposes to press ahead with the imposition of cash limits on the spending of general practitioners, if he will make a further statement giving greater detail.
§ Mr. BrittanNo decision has been made about cash limiting expenditure on the family practitioner services. But, as my right hon. and learned Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, indicated in his speech to the Royal Society of Health, it is for consideration whether the cost of the family practitioner services, currently running at £2.5 billion a year, could be more effectively controlled without endangering the standards of care that these services provide. Whether this could be done by cash limiting is a matter that will require further study.