HC Deb 09 February 1959 vol 599 cc140-1W
64. Mr. Edelman

asked the Minister of Health, in view of his Department's policy in requiring the purchase of drugs under competitive tender, if he will cause an inquiry to be made into the fact that until June, 1958, prices tendered for cortiosteroids and prednisteroids by leading manufacturers were all exactly the same.

Mr. Walker-Smith

No. The hon. Member is under a misapprehension. The original tenders obtained in 1955 showed some price differences, and the subsequent downward movement of prices to uniform levels was, in my view, the result of competition.