§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will continue to support the chapter 10.5 scheme;
(2) what recent representations he has received concerning the review of the chapter 10.5 scheme by the Scottish Office; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 8 December 1994]: Representations have been received recently from the Scottish General Medical Services committee and from a number of general medical practitioners.
The chapter 10.5 payments scheme—so called because it derives from chapter 10.5 of the 1989 White Paper "Working for Patients"—was introduced by the then Secretary of State in April 1990. Its purpose was to safeguard the position of doctors in the less populated parts of Scotland who it was thought might be unable to maintain or increase their income under the revised remuneration arrangements of the new GP contract which placed more emphasis than previously on capitation-based payments. A fund of £1.204 million per annum was established in Scotland. There is no equivalent scheme in England. In the event there has been less of a move towards capitation-based remuneration than expected. The position is currently under review.