§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the cost of the available scale margin with respect to prescription payments in the last year of its existence;
(2) how much money has been saved by the abolition of the available scale margin;
(3) on how many occasions were available scale margin payments made during the last year of that payment's existence.
§ Mr. MellorI understand that the hon. Member's questions relate to the tolerance margin which was included in the assessment of claimants' requirements under the scheme for claiming exemption from prescription charges on low income grounds which was in force prior to 11 April 1988. I regret that we have no information about the number of cases in which the existence of this margin affected a claimant's entitlement to exemption from prescription charges; nor is it possible to distinguish between the effects of the abolition of the tolerance margin and those of the other changes which took place at the same time.