§ Viscount Hanworthasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are satisfied that the payments made to health consultants both for their private practices and by means of retaining fees are in the interests of ready access to consultants.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)The earnings of National Health Service consultants from private work and any retaining fees that they receive from private insurance companies are a matter for individual consultants. The department's primary concern is that the consultants fully meet their contractual obligations to the NHS. It is for local management to ensure that they do so.