To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2008, Official Report, column 64W, on health centres, what arrangements his Department has made for primary care trusts to fulfill their obligations under the GP-led health centres programme in cases where a trust has already put out to tender for a GP-led health centre and does not have a valid requirement for a further centre. (231061)

The national GP Patient Survey demonstrates that in all primary care trusts (PCTs) there remains a level of patient dissatisfaction in accessing general practitioner (GP) services. This year patients identified a 2 per cent. reduction in satisfaction with access to their GP. Each primary care trust will therefore benefit from the development of a new GP-led health centre that will allow any patient to access a GP from 8 am to 8 pm, seven days a week without having to change their normal registration with their existing practice. It will also allow more choice for patients in how they can access primary care services. We are looking to PCTs to come up with innovative solutions that meet their health care needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2008, Official Report, column 64W, on health centres, for what reason primary care trusts were not able to submit in their contribution to the GP-led health centre programme any proposed centre where the call for tender had already been issued. (231062)

We have asked strategic health authorities to ensure that primary care trusts are guided by the principle that their plans for these new services should be in addition to any services that have already been commissioned.