§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the economic impact on the British pharmaceutical industry of the Government's restriction on the range of drugs permissible for prescription by general practitioners.
§ Mr. HayhoeInevitably the diversion of expenditure on medicines to meet other National Health Service needs has had an impact on some pharmaceutical companies, varying according to the circumstances of the company.
However, the savings of £75 million expected from the selected list in 1985.86 amount to about 6 per cent. of the National Health Service drugs bill, and since the list was introduced a number of companies have announced substantial further investments in the United Kingdom. We believe that the United Kingdom pharmaceutical industry continues to have a bright future.