§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he proposes to extend free prescriptions to sufferers from arachnoiditis.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThere are no plans to extend the range of conditions which currently attract free prescriptions on medical grounds. There are already wide-ranging exemption arrangements, underpinned by the separate scheme for remission on the ground of low income, which ensure that no one need be deterred from obtaining any necessary medication on financial grounds. Nearly 80 per cent of NHS prescription items are currently dispensed free of charge.