Suffolk Family Practitioner Committee

Mr. Weetch
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in how many cases, during the last 10 years, the Suffolk family practitioner committee has found a  practitioner to have acted in breach of his contract of employment; and in how many of these cases the committee has exercised its power to withhold remuneration.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke
We do not collect detailed local information of this kind centrally. However, the Suffolk family practitioner committee has provided information for the years from 1 April 1982, which is as follows: -------------------------
|                       |
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|Dental breaches        |
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|Medical breaches       |
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|Pharmaceutical breaches|
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|Opthalmic breaches     |
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FPCs have no power to withhold remuneration, though they may recommend to the Secretary of State that a withholding be made in a particular case. A withholding was recommended in three of the six cases.