Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to align prescription charges in England with that of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
No specific assessment has been made. However, the impact assessment which accompanied the consultation document on aligning the upper age exemption for National Health Service prescription charges with the state pension age examined a range of issues for those on lower incomes. The impact assessment is available at the following link:
There are no plans to abolish prescription charges in England, as in the devolved administrations.