Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has analysed the potential costs and benefits to the NHS of increasing the number of free prescriptions.

The Department has made no formal assessment. Extensive arrangements are already in place to help people afford National Health Service prescriptions. These include a broad range of NHS prescription charge exemptions, for which someone with a chronic illness may qualify.

To support those with greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption, cost of the prescription pre-payment certificates were frozen for another year. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just £2 per week.

Prescription charges are a valuable source of income for the NHS, contributing just over £575 million in revenue in the financial year 2017/18 alone. This funding is particularly important given the increasing demands on the NHS.