§ Mr. John Pattenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) when he intends to bring forward legislation on the Clothier report recommendations covering rural pharmacies;
(2) whether his Department supports the existing standstill arrangement, pending legislation, in the Clothier report for rural provision of dispensing services.
§ Dr. VaughanThe representatives of the medical and pharmaceutical professions have made a most persuasive case for implementation of the Clothier committee's recommendations on the arrangements for dispensing NHS prescriptions in rural areas. I am not yet able to make a statement on legislation, but I wholeheartedly support the existing "standstill" agreement between the General Medical Services Committee, the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, and I hope that all general medical practitioners and pharmacists practising in rural areas will continue to abide by it.