§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give details of the scheme agreed with the British Medical Association for the payment of sessional fees to medical practitioners for providing information relating to benefits which require medical assessment, including details of the fee agreed and those participating; and if she will make a statement.
§ Dr. MawhinneyHospital consultants may charge a fee for examinations and reports for third parties which do not form part of their normal contractual national health service duties relating to the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness. The determination of that fee is a matter for the practitioner and the third party concerned. Fees for any such examinations or reports provided to the Benefits Agency are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security.