§ Mr. MooreTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimates his Department has made of(a) the savings accruing from the cancellation of the eighth wave of GP fundholding and (b) other NHS efficiency savings since 1 May 1997. [53222]
§ Mr. Dewar[holding answer 29 July 1998]: There were no applications for entry to the Standard Fundholding Scheme outstanding at 1 May 1997 and, therefore, no savings were planned or made in respect of the Scheme. The Government intend to bring forward legislation which, subject to Parliamentary approval, will abolish GP Fundholding from 1 April 1999.
The estimated savings from reducing bureaucracy are set out in the table.
485W
Year £ million 1997–98 10 1998–99 10 1999–2000 20