§ Mr. Weetchasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) in the light of the recent judgment in the High Court concerning the clawback of alleged excess profits by opticians, whether he will consider withdrawing the clawback of a similar nature imposed on dentists;
(2) what are the figures for the amounts of money withheld from dentists, under the clawback arrangements, during the following years: 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84 and 1984–85; and whether he will express these figures both as total amounts and amounts per individual general dental practitioner.
§ Mr. HayhoeNo adjustments of the kind imposed on opticians have been imposed on dentists. The system of remuneration of general dental practitioners includes an arrangement whereby the income paid in one year is adjusted in agreement with the profession, on the basis of data on actual income supplied by the Inland Revenue, to take account of any under or over payments in previous years. This arrangement has proved acceptable to the independent Doctors and Dentists Review Body.
151WThe adjustments made in the years 1979–80 to 1984–85 and agreed by the profession are as follows (a negative sign indicating an amount recovered from dentists).
Total (England) £ million Amount per general dental practitioner* 1979–80 0 0 1980–81 0 0 1981–82 -5.4 -440 1982–83 -2.5 -197 1983–84 -1.2 -88 1984–85 0 0 * excluding dentists who did not work in the GDS for the whole year and a small number in other groups.