To ask the Secretary of State for health if he will make a statement regarding his Department's policy on charging patients for visits to the doctor and to hospital and for stays in hospital. [5626]

The comprehensive spending review will review all aspects of Government spending. In the Department of Health, the review will be carried out in the context of the Government's election manifesto commitment which states: "if you are ill or injured there will be a national health service there to help; and access to it will be based on need and need alone—not on your ability to pay, or on who your GP happens to be or on where you live".