§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he is giving to health authorities on setting up primary care groups in natural communities which have populations of less than 80,000 people. [44402]
§ Mr. MilburnHealth Service Circular 1998/065, which we published in April, said that primary care groups will be based on natural geographical communities of people, typically covering around 100,000 population. However, we have made clear that it is the functions which a primary care group will carry out that will determine its size, shape and configuration.