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Health and Education

The hon. Gentleman is seeking a definition of ““shortly””. The research conference will take place at about the same time as we publish the dementia strategy, so it should take place very early in the new year. I am not trying to be difficult, but the way in which this works is that we have to get our slot in the system, and I hope that we will get a date very soon. Only two weeks ago, I opened the first GP-led health centre, in Bradford; the second opened on Tuesday, in Corby. We were rather disappointed: we expected the Opposition Front-Bench team to be outside with placards, protesting vigorously, along with the BMA, but there was not a single protest. All we had was the local community, absolutely delighted to have that fabulous facility in their community. The centres provide access to primary care services from 8 am to 8 pm every day of the year, including Christmas day. The next year will see 152 such centres open, many of them offering additional services such as podiatry, physiotherapy or speech and language therapy. In addition, many will be able to perform minor operations and offer specialist services to patients with asthma or diabetes who would otherwise have had to go to hospital for treatment. We are also funding 112 additional GP practices to provide much needed services for under-doctored areas, which, for the most part, have suffered from a chronic shortage of GPs since the NHS began. That is a vital step in tackling health inequalities. There is a clear correlation between limited access to primary care services and poor health.