HC Deb 15 February 1983 vol 37 cc121-2W
28. Mr. Tilley

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the proportion of people receiving prescriptions without being charged for them.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

No information is available on the number of individuals who receive prescriptions without incurring prescription charges. However, some 70 per cent. of all prescription items are dispensed free of charge under the wide-ranging exemption arrangements and a further six per cent. are dispensed to those who have purchased prepayment certificates on either an annual or a four-monthly basis.

Mr. Ashley

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many prescriptions are issued annually in the United Kingdom; and what proportion is for retirement pensioners.

Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg

In 1981, 370 million prescriptions were dispensed in the United Kingdom. In England and Wales 55 per cent. of the dispensed prescriptions were for patients who claimed exemption because they were over pension age. Similar information is not available for Scotland or Northern Ireland.