§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services for each of the last 10 years what percentage of patients receiving (a) dental treatment, (b) optical treatment and (c) prescriptions, have been exempted from charges for any reason.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergThe information available, which is set out in the following table, is based on courses of dental treatment provided and optical and pharmaceutical prescriptions dispensed rather than on the use of services by particular patients. It covers the financial years 1972–73 to 1981–82 inclusive and relates to England only.
267W
Pharmaceutical service* General dental service†║ General ophthalmic senice‡║ £ million £ million £ million 1978–79 419 103 19 1979–80 475 120 21 1980–81 616 147 25 1981–82 741 157 •33 1982–83 *861 ▀ ▀ Notes * Excluding the cost of prescriptions issued to holders of pre-payment certificates. † Includes all exemptions, automatic remissions on grounds of low income and full remissions. ‡ Includes all exemptions, remissions and refunds. ║ Includes an element for the cost of services provided free to all. ¶ Full information is not available for these years to provide an estimate on a comparable basis.
• Includes an element of arrears for opticians' fees for previous years. ▀ Not yet available. ⋆ Provisional.