§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what additional funds he is making available to health boards to enable practice surgeries in rural areas to meet the requirements of the new contract.
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth[holding answer 16 June 1989]: Funding for general medical services following the introduction of the new contract for GPs will be determined in the course of the Government's public expenditure survey 1989. The funds will take full account of the new contract, including those aspects which relate to rural practices.
At present public expenditure on family practitioner services generally is planned to increase from £496 million in 1988–89 to £610 million in 1991–92, an increase of 23 per cent.