HC Deb 17 January 1991 vol 183 cc585-6W
Mr. Battle

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of the impact of altering the banding arrangements to include wards with Jarman scores of 10 or over.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

The number of wards (1981 boundaries) which have a Jarman score of 10 or more in England is 1,954. If deprivation payments were to be made at the level (10 or more) the cost would have to be met by reducing other fees and allowances within the remuneration system to ensure that the average net income incurred by general practitioners did not exceed the level recommended by the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body and accepted by the Government. If the payment rate for the band 30–39 was extended down to 10, some £60 million at January 1991 rates would have to be found by reducing other fees and allowance.