HC Deb 17 July 1989 vol 157 cc27-8W
Mr. Cousins

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state the total sales of medicines under the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme to general practitioners and National Health Service hospitals in each year since 1979.

Mr. Mellor

Total United Kingdom sales for major companies operating under the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme (PPRS) have been as follows:

£ million
1979 775
1980 884
1981 1,083
1982 1,269
1983 1,386
1984 1,483
1985 1,510
1986 1,569
1987 1,611

Staff in post 1986 Staff in post 1987 Staff in post 1988 Staff in post 1989
S.S.O. — 3 4 4
H.S.O. 6 6 5 4
A.S.O. 3 2.5 4 3
SO. 2 2 2 2
DCPO 3 3 3 3
SPHO 6 6 8 8
PPHO 22 22 25 30
PHO1 31 31 24 23
PHO2 7 1 — —
HPTO — 5.5 3 7.5
Laboratory Attendant 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Total 260.5 286.5 272 286
Total Administration Staff 159 184 172.5 180.5
Total Professional Staff 101.5 102.5 99.5 105.5

From 1979 to 1985 the following table shows the total number of staff in post and the numbers of administrative and professional staff.

The figures are sales of PPRS medicines made by companies required to submit full financial information under the scheme, and are the total of sales made in each company's financial year which ended in the year stated. They will include some sales not made to the NHS, where these are incidental to NHS sales; separate information on sales to hospitals and the family practitioner service is not available, nor is information for later periods.

Sales made under the PPRS were affected by the introduction of the selected list scheme in April 1985, and by the exclusion of generics from the PPRS in October 1986.

Mr. Cousins

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the minimum allowable profit on capital employed under the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme in each year since 1979 and the average level of profit under the scheme in each year.

Mr. Mellor

Under the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme each company has a profit target which it can expect to retain if achieved. There is no "minimum allowable profit" under the scheme. For the years in question, the lower end of the range of target returns was:

Per cent.
To 31 March 1984 17
From 1 April 1984 15
From 1 October 1986 16
From 1 October 1987 17

Average levels of profit achieved are not published.