§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to resolve the dispute over chemists' handling charges of child-proof medicine containers at dispensaries; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. VaughanI am pleased to say that agreement has been reached with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee on an interim increase in the rate of container allowance from 3.5p to 3.8p per prescription for each prescription dispensed by retail pharmacists with effect from 1 March 1981. A container inquiry will be held later in the year to establish the actual average cost of containers, with a view to making any necessary adjustment to the allowance.
The extension of the child-resistant container scheme to all solid-dose medicines was launched by the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain at a press conference on 26 February which I addressed, and the extended scheme, which has the support of the British Medical Association, began, as previously arranged, on 2 March.