Clegg: No competition based on price in NHS

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg commented to the BBC on the pause in the government’s NHS reforms:
“It is a rather good idea to have GPs in the driving seat, rather than unaccountable officials who are moving money around from one side of the desk to the other.
“But, yes, with responsibility must come more accountability, which is precisely why we will be looking at these concerns, and will be looking to amend the legislation to reflect that.”
“The NHS is not the government’s property. We want people to feel comfortable with the changes, which will strengthen, and not weaken, the NHS.
“There isn’t going to be a bargain-basement rush to the bottom, because there isn’t going to be competition based on price.”
“We want to be very, very clear – we’re not going to allow cherry-picking. We’re certainly not going to allow vital parts of the NHS, like A&E, to be suddenly open to competition.”