§ Earl Russellasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether a general practitioner is legally entitled to refuse to register a prospective patient because she is a lesbian.
§ Baroness Jay of PaddingtonGeneral practitioners' terms of service give the doctor the discretion to agree whether to accept a person, if eligible, on to his or her list. Health authorities have powers to assign patients to a GP if they have difficulty in registering. GPs are fully aware of guidance issued by the General Medical Council in May 1992, which made it clear that it is unacceptable to discriminate against patients on the grounds of their age, sex, sexuality, race, colour, beliefs, perceived economic worth or the amount of work they are likely to generate by virtue of their clinical condition.