§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table setting out the total of the amount by which general practitioners' expenditure on prescribed drugs exceeded indicative limits in each year since 1990.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe indicative prescribing scheme started in April 1991, therefore figures for 1990–91 are not available. Information for 1991–92 and 1992–93 is shown in the table.
1991–92 £ 1992–93 £ Indicative amount 2,231,489,967 2,367,401,869 Expenditure 2,414,708,258 2,545,374,139 Difference +183,218,291 +177,972,270
§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to bring the budget for general practitioner prescriptions within the cash-limited budgets of health authorities or health commissions; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe cost of drugs prescribed by general practitioner fund holders are contained within fund-holding budgets, which in turn form part of the cash limited hospital, community and family health services budgets of regional health authorities. We have no plans to extend these arrangements to non-fund-holding general practitioners.