§ 27. Mr. GODFREY LOCKER-LAMPSONasked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the Insurance Commissioners, whether a number of insurance committees are finding that the claims on their drug fund for chemists' accounts are growing in amount as compared with last year, whether such is the case with committees which had insufficient money to pay the chemists' accounts in full last year; and what the Government propose to do to meet these increasing deficiences?
§ Mr. WEDGWOOD BENN (Lord of the Treasury)Until the total sums available to each insurance committee have been finally ascertained, and the accounts have been scrutinised, the assumptions underlying the question cannot be accepted. In a few cases the Insurance Commissioners have received information that the accounts for the quarter, which ended on the 11th of last month, are in excess of those for the same quarter of last year; but no comparison between the amounts can properly be made until the accounts for each period have been examined.
§ Mr. G. LOCKER-LAMPSONCan the hon. Member say when this scrutiny will take place, and when we shall really know what deficiencies the chemists have to meet?
§ Mr. W. BENNDoes the hon. Gentleman refer to last year's accounts or this?
§ Mr. G. LOCKER-LAMPSONLast year.
§ Mr. W. BENNThat is in progress.
§ Mr. W. BENNWe cannot get a provisional figure of the scrutiny. The scrutiny will determine it exactly.
§ Mr. W. BENNThe scrutiny is now proceeding and will show what the exact position is.
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. Gentleman had better put it on the Paper.
28. Mr. GODFREYLOCKER-LAMPSONasked whether the chemists under contract 1274 with the West Hartlepool Insurance Committee have had 30 per cent. deducted from their bills for last quarter, chiefly because the committee has insufficient funds to meet the bills; whether there is still outstanding and unpaid 10 per cent. of the chemists' bills for each quarter of last year; if the number of prescriptions dispensed in that area have increased from 1,800 in the quarter ending April, 1913, to 2,200 in the corresponding quarter this year, and the cost increased from about £525 to £754; and whether the chemists and the insurance committee have expressed their dissatisfaction to the Commissioners.
§ Mr. W. BENNThe Insurance Commissioners hope to be able to inform the committee referred to at an early date of the total sum available to them, from the drug fund for the past year. In the meantime, any payments made to the chemists are in the nature of advances only. For the reasons explained in my previous reply to the hon. Member, no comparison can properly be made at present between the accounts for last quarter and for the corresponding period of last year.
§ Mr. CASSELIs the hon. Gentleman aware that real hardship is being experienced by these chemists through their not being paid their bills?
§ Mr. W. BENNThat is a general statement. I cannot say whether it bears out the facts substantially.
§ Mr. WORTHINGTON EVANSIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the Insurance Commissioners said two months ago that they hoped to settle it at an early date? Will he now define what is an early date?
§ Mr. W. BENNThe scrutiny is now proceeding.
§ Mr. FELLThe case of the chemists is very different from that of the doctors. The chemists are largely out of pocket.
§ Mr. SPEAKERIf hon. Members insist on asking supplementary questions, those, hon. Members whose questions are late on the Paper cannot expect to get their questions answered in the House.