asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total remaining in the fund for compensating general practitioners for the loss of goodwill when the National Health Service Act came into force; what is its real value in present-day terms; and what is the percentage lost since 1948.

At 30th November, 1971, the capital sum outstanding to medical practitioners in Great Britain who were awarded practice compensation was £7·9 million. The purchasing power of this sum in 1948 terms would be about £3·3 million, which represents a fall in value of some 58 per cent.