§ Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the differences in the method of operation between GP fundholders and locality commissioning; and when commissioning will be introduced. [6746]
§ Mr. MilburnGeneral practitioner fundholders are allocated a budget with which to purchase for their patients those health services included in the fundholding List of Goods and Services. A range of approaches to commissioning have already begun to develop locally. Details vary, but the usual pattern is that GP practices, (sometimes including fundholders) collaborate with their health authority to plan the local health strategy, determine priorities, and in some cases also commission services for all patients to ensure that all have equal access to high quality health care.
I announced on 26 June a programme to evaluate 20 GP Commissioning Group pilots over 2 years from April I998, to complement an assessment of the range of existing activity.