HC Deb 13 March 1992 vol 205 cc750-1W
Mr. Speed

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the amount paid to pharmacist contractors in England and Wales in respect of fees and on-cost, expressed in pence per prescription and as a percentage of the total amount paid per prescription for each of the last 10 years at actual and constant prices.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

The requested information is given in the table:

Fees and oncost—Pence per prescription
Year Actual prices Constant prices2 Percentage of total amount paid
1981 76.3 136.7 22.4
1982 84.6 141.6 22.4
1983 88.7 141.8 21.5
1984 1041 158.5 23.8
19851 97.8 148.9 21.9

Year Actual prices Constant prices2 Percentage of total amount paid
1985–86 115.6 166.8 23.9
1986–87 121.9 170.3 23.8
1987–88 120.6 159.8 21.9
1988–89 132.0 1632 21.9
1989–90 145.7 169.1 22.7
1990–91 138.7 148.4 20.8
11 January 1985 to 31 March 1985.
2 Constant prices calculated using 1991–92 prices as base.

Note: Lump sum underpayments are included in the year in which they were paid.

Mr. Speed

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of expenditure on primary health care was paid to pharmacist contractors in respect of fees and on-cost for the last 10 years.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

The information is shown in the table.

Total expenditure on pharmacists' fees and on-costs as a percentage of total expenditure on primary health care services England
Primary health care Pharmacists' fees, etc. Fees, etc. as percentage of primary health care
£ million £ million per cent.
1981–82 2,443 232 9.5
1982–83 2,832 264 9.3
1983–84 3,041 282 9.3
1984–85 3,349 336 10.1
1985–86 3,527 359 10.2
1986–87 3,820 384 10.1
1987–88 4,220 409 9.7
1988–89 4,801 457 9.5
1989–90 5,099 477 9.4
1990–91 5,427 516 9.5

Source: Department of Health Tables (FI): Total cost of services and sources of finance for health and personal social services.

Note: Primary health care services are those provided by family doctors, dentists, community pharmacists, opticians and community nurses.

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