§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the average cost of processing the four-page form F1D, filled in by patients wishing to claim exemption from National Health Service dental charges; what was the average cost of processing the eight-page revised form F1D that replaced it; and what is now estimated to be the cost of processing the 17-page form AG1 that replaced the revised form F1D on 11 April.
§ Mr. Portillo[holding answer 29 April 1988]: I regret that reliable estimates which would provide cost comparisons between the forms F1D, the revised F ID and the AG1 are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Form AG1 covers a variety of possible situations and the length of time it will take to process will depend on the circumstances of each individual case. However, as the AG1's new design replaces a number of previous separate claim forms which will now be processed in one central office rather than locally, I do not expect there to be higher processing costs.