Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to investigate NHS penalty charges resulting from errors in direct debits for prescriptions.

The Department has no plans to investigate National Health Service penalty charges resulting from errors in direct debits for prescriptions.

Only the 12-month Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) can be paid for by direct debit, and there are processes in place to ensure individuals who pay for their PPC via direct debit are informed of the procedures and their responsibilities.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) administers PPCs on behalf of the Department. A patient’s PPC and payments automatically renew unless it is: requested or cancelled by the certificate holder; there is an outstanding balance to be paid on a PPC; or if the holder is turning 60 years old within nine months of their certificate expiring. In these instances, the individual will be notified by letter before the end date of their existing certificate. Where a patient is turning 60 years old within nine months of their certificate expiring, they are advised of alternative routes to exemption to cover the period until they are entitled to the age exemption.

Only where the individual fails to manually renew their PPC but continues to claim free prescriptions after the expiry date of their PPC, will a penalty charge be issued by the NHSBSA.