Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to hold a consultation on the proposed state-backed GP indemnity scheme; what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is no additional cost incurred to (a) the NHS and (b) GPs of such a scheme; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that the development of the proposed scheme maintains an open and competitive Medical Defence Organisation market.

The Department is developing a state-backed indemnity scheme for general practice in England. This recognises that the rising cost of clinical negligence is a great source of concern for general practitioners (GPs). The state-backed scheme is being designed to provide more affordable and more stable cover for GPs. This involves complex considerations about funding which are being worked through.

We consider that focused engagement with the relevant stakeholders on the emerging policy direction is a more effective way of ensuring that the representations of those affected are taken into account than a public consultation, at this time. The recent indemnity in general practice survey included attitudinal questions to gauge the views of the profession. The Government is working with medical defence organisations, general practice representatives and other key stakeholders in the design of the scheme.

This follows the Department and NHS England’s review into GP indemnity, published July 2016 at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/gp-indemnity-rev-summary.pdf

This set out the evidence for the scale and drivers of indemnity inflation and proposals for ways to address indemnity pressures and underlying factors.

We recognise the value of medical defence organisations to their members and we are working closely with them to understand the impact of the proposed scheme on their business.