§ Lord Reaasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the cut off points of the underprivileged area score which determine the three levels of supplementary capitation fee payable to general practitioners and whether they intend to make any changes to these cut off points.
§ Baroness CumberlegeA general practitioner's eligibility to receive payments for a patient resident in areas of deprivation is based on the Jarman Index. For patients resident in an electoral ward scoring 30 and over on the index, the doctor receives the lower payment; for patients resident in a ward scoring 40 and over, the doctor receives the intermediate payment; and for patients resident in a ward scoring 50 and over, the doctor receives the higher payment.
The deprivation payments scheme will need to be updated to take account of new data from the 1991 census, and we shall take stock at the same time of the operation of other aspects of the scheme.
§ Lord Reaasked Her Majesty's Government:
86WAWhether there is any requirement as to how GPs spend the additional payments received for patients living in electoral wards designated as under-privileged.
§ Baroness CumberlegeNo.