§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on the creation of incentives for general practitioners to work in the inner city;
(2) what plans she has to encourage (a) women general practitioners and (b) general practitioners generally into working in the inner city.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe 1990 general practitioner contract introduced the deprivation payments scheme in recognition of the potential higher work load faced by GPs in urban areas. The contract also introduced explicit recognition for part-time working and job-sharing arrangements to assist doctors, including women, who wish to combine a career in general practice with other commitments.
As outlined in "Making London Better", we are currently exploring the scope for more flexible approaches to general medical services within the London initiative zone, including arrangements to strengthen the recruitment of GPs. We will assess subsequently the potential for wider application of any new arrangements which are introduced.
§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to adjust allocation of budgets given to general practitioner budget holders to take into account census and household survey data.
§ Dr. MawhinneyGeneral practitioner fundholder budget setting guidance for 1994–95 is given in EL(93) 93, a copy of which is available in the Library. Work is being undertaken to identify any new data which may usefully be taken account of in future guidance.