§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many paid prescriptions have been taken out, and how many dental consultations made, for each month since April, 1970.
§ Mr. AlisonThe numbers of prescriptions dispensed by chemists in England 291W on which charges were paid were as follows:
Month 1970 1971 January — 10,219,900 February — 9,370,800 March — 11,124,200 April 9,849,000 8,096,800 May 9,393,600 8,271,500 June 9,550,300 8,509,800 July 9,281,000 8,536,800 August 8,290,800 7,580,000 September 9,415,100 8,349,400 October 10,102,000 8,595,400 November 9,234,200 8,638,200 December 9,511,300 — Figures of the number of separate dental consultations are not available. In the general dental services in England, however, the numbers of courses of treatment, including emergency cases, scheduled for payment by the Dental Estimates Board were as follows:
Month 1970 1971 1972 January — 1,716,200 1,788,700 February — 1,495,100 March — 1,619,600 April 1,665,600 1,813,900 May 1,795,900 1,866,300 June 1,662,400 1,758,500 July 1,651,200 1,762,300 August 1,636,900 1,822,100 September 1,555,900 1,708,400 October 1,638,100 1,768,100 November 1,728,300 1,917,900 December 1,714,100 1,902,700