§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his answer of 11 July, to what factors he attributes the fall in the number of prescription items between 1984 and 1985.
§ Mr. HayhoeThe table I provided on 11 July showed that in the past 10 years the general trend has been for the number of prescription items dispensed to increase. Although occasionally there may be variations in this trend there is no firm evidence to identify any particular cause.
298Wtaken. All these factors vary over time as a result of legislative, policy and procedural changes. Examples of such changes are the introduction of housing benefit and postal claim forms.