HC Deb 25 November 1987 vol 123 cc248-9W
Mr. Hayward

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the future of the General Practice Finance Corporation.

Mr. Newton

The White Paper "Promoting Better Health" (Cm. 249), published today, announces the Government's plans to seek powers to change the constitution of the General Practice Finance Corporation (GPFC) to allow maximum use of private sector funds. It is proposed that the corporation should become a statutory company under the Companies Act and that there should be a trust to represent the profession on the board of directors of the new corporation. We shall be carrying forward this proposal in further discussion with the GPFC and the General Medical Services Committee (GMSC) of the British Medical Association. Powers to enable such a change to take place are included in clauses 1 to 3 of the Health and Medicines Bill, published today.

In the meantime, we have increased the corporation's permitted borrowing of £8 million to £10 million in 1988–89. In consequence, the corporation has resumed lending for family doctors' surgery premises.