asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will review the arrangements requiring elderly persons to provide medical certificates for various purposes and consider what assistance might be provided to assist retirement pensioners with the costs involved in obtaining certificates of health for insurance, car driving and other purposes.

There are a wide variety of circumstances in which a private medical certificate may be required, not all of which involve cost to the person, elderly or otherwise, who has to obtain it. I see no reason to disturb existing arrangements whereby the fees for services of this kind, unrelated to health care, are determined by the doctors providing them. The BMA gives guidance to doctors from time to time on the reasonable level of fees.