HC Deb 24 February 1997 vol 291 cc91-2W
Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the adequacy of

Number and percentage of 15-year-olds1 entered and achieving GCSE grade A* to C by subject, 1996
15-year-olds entered for GCSE 15-year-olds achieving GCSE grade A* to C
Number Percentage2 Number Percentage2
Mathematics 31,851 86 14,994 40
English Language 32,049 86 17,328 47
1 Age as at 31 August 1995.
2 As a percentage of the total number of 15-year-olds at school in Wales in January 1996.

safeguards preventing multiple pharmacies transferring prescriptions handed in at one pharmacy branch to another branch to maximise payment for additional professional services; and if he will make a statement. [17080]

Mr. Hague

The Welsh Office is represented on the efficiency scrutiny on prescription fraud, which has the task of recommending measures to reduce the risk of prescription fraud. The scrutiny team is due to complete its work by the end of March.

Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what statistics he has collated in respect of the average aggregate prescribing of antibiotics in each of the past five years. [16996]

Mr. Hague

The number of prescription items, for antibacterial drugs, dispensed in each of the past five years is given in the following table:

Prescription items for antibacterial drugs
Prescription items dispensed (thousands)
1991–92 2,937
1992–93 2,927
1993–94 3,118
1994–95 3,159
1995–96 3,160

Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidelines he has issued to health authorities to prevent pharmacies with branches in more than one health authority area transferring prescriptions handed in at one pharmacy for processing at a pharmacy in another health authority area with a view to maximising the payment of the professional allowance for processing prescriptions. [17081]

Mr. Hague

None.