§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total number of people in England registered with a general practitioner at the latest convenient date; and what percentage of the total population this represents.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe total number of patients in England registered with a general medical practitioner at 1 October 1983 was 49,262,580. This represented 105.66 per cent. of the total civilian population in England. The difference is accounted for by delays in removing from doctors' lists patients who have died, emigrated, or 47W transferred to other doctors. This inflation of lists is extremely unsatisfactory but it does not cause additional cost to taxpayers because the remuneration and total fee structure for general practitioners is based on a target average remuneration for all practitioners.