PRESCRIPTION CHARGES IN ENGLAND

That this House notes the different prescription charging policies in UK countries; notes also that the NHS could save millions if more generic drugs were prescribed where appropriate; futher notes that the Office of Fair Trading report on the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme identified potential savings of £500 million from just a limited range of drug categories; further notes that paid for prescriptions raise only £430 million; further notes that people in England often cannot take the drugs they are prescribed, leading to health complications and further costs to the NHS; further notes that the National Audit Office estimated drug wastage in the NHS to amount to more than £100 million; and therefore calls on the Government to adopt UKIP policy of free prescriptions across the UK and to fund this by greater use of generic drugs and less wastage.