I shall speak very briefly indeed. I thoroughly endorse the entire concept of competition that runs through the Bill's provisions. However, I should like to mention briefly the problem of rural dispensing surgeries, on which I have been campaigning for some time. Unfortunately, under current regulations—some of which come under section 43 of the National Health Service Act 1977—some of which are being amended by the Bill, provision of existing services are prescribed for a one-mile radius, thereby creating a monopoly. I believe that that provision creates an uncompetitive situation and that it should be removed.

I know that the Minister is closely involved in current discussions between the British Medical Association and the pharmaceutical industry, and that he is doing his best to knock their heads together in an attempt to reach a sensible solution, which is necessary. I believe very strongly that rural dispensing surgeries are useful and essential for patients and consumers. I should like to have it on the record that the Bill makes no provisions that could in any way prejudice the continuation of rural dispensing surgeries.