Residents have written to ask about plans they had heard about to charge for GP visits.

I think their concerns were sparked by a British Medical Association ballot of its members on whether there should be a fee. In the event the motion was rejected and I’m not surprised.

In this country there is a longstanding political consensus that healthcare will be free at the point of need, funded through general taxation.

It is always interesting to look at alternative ways of funding, but I have not seen anything that would persuade me that the basic financing model we have for the NHS is flawed.

That said, there is a challenge for ministers in reconciling our limited resources with the increasing cost of satisfying the hi-tech expectations of an aging population. One way or the other the money must come from the public and in the UK we have chosen to levy this through taxation and pool risk.

Roll on publication of John Chilcott’s report but in the meantime I’m as perplexed as Boris Johnson by Tony Blair’s suggestion that the current dire situation in Iraq has nothing to do with him.

It is worth pointing out that, despite Mr Blair’s protestations, Saddam Hussein posed no threat to us but the terrorist organisation ISIS that has emerged from the ashes shows every sign of doing so.

Mr Blair’s first instinct, evidently, is that Britain should be prepared to intervene militarily.

But even without Chilcott, history tells us that he has nothing worth listening to on Iraq.

So, the Government is right to ignore him and, in a more measured approach, hold out the prospect of co-operating at some level with Iran in dealing with the deteriorating situation in Iraq.

Reopening our embassy in Tehran is sensible although, based on past history, it will be a challenging post for whoever is lucky enough to win the job as ambassador.

Hard hat definitely required.