§ Mr. RooneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend the list of illnesses qualifying for free prescriptions to include (a) cancer sufferers taking Tamoxifen and (b) other illnesses.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyExemption from prescription charges on medical grounds is linked to specified medical conditions, rather than to particular treatments. There are no plans to change this policy or to extend the list of medical conditions which currently attract free prescriptions.
Existing, wide-ranging exemption arrangements, underpinned by the separate scheme for remission on grounds of low income and the prescription prepayment certificate scheme, ensure that no one need forego any necessary medication on financial grounds. Less than one item in five dispensed in the national health service currently attracts a charge.