asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average list size for the general practitioner service of the National Health Service in England, Scotland, Northern and dependants, and (12) claimants and dependants as a percentage of the Scottish population.

Information about the total number of claimants and dependants in Scotland was not obtained prior to 1975 and the figures for 1975 will not be available until midsummer. Information under the other heads is not available for the years before 1962. The remaining information, much of which can be obtained from Table 19 of the Scottish Abstract of Statistics, is as follows:Ireland and Wales and the comparable figure under the system of health care applicable in France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia.

The average list sizes at October 1974 for doctors providing the full range of NHS general medical services were as follows:

England	2,384
Wales	2,191
Scotland	1,973
Northern Ireland	2,000 (estimated)

Comparable information is not available in respect of the other countries mentioned in which patients may not be required to register with general practitioners.