§ Mr. Pavittasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what response has been sent to the submission by the South Birmingham Community Health Centre to enable pharmacists to substitute an equivalent generic product for proprietary products at an estimated saving to the taxpayer of £200 million per annum, information about which has been sent to him by the hon. Member for Brent, South.
§ Dr. OwenMy Department has thanked the CHC for its submission and informed it that the scheme will be studied when detailed and up-to-date information about it is available. The CHC estimates that the scheme would save £80 million per annum and not £200 million. The soundness of this estimate cannot be assessed without detailed comparison of the British and Ontario health care systems.