§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he plans to implement in full the recommendations in paragraph 2.34 and 2.35 of the report of the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration; and if he will make a statement. [69923]
§ Mr. DenhamI refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, South-East (Dr. Iddon) on 1 February 1999,Official Report,columns 524–25. It gave the Government's response to these two pay review body recommendations to allocate an extra £50 million a year from 2000–01 to reward individual consultants for increases in workload and intensity of work.
Our negotiations with the profession on a new consultant contract are covering these issues. We will consider the recommendation very carefully in the context of the negotiations, and are willing to make an investment in rewards and incentives if the negotiations deliver a better service for patients. We will, therefore, decide on the level of any extra funding for future years, and how such funding might be allocated, when the negotiations are complete.