Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the NHS was to (a) administer and (b) collect prescription fines in the last 12 months.

There is no cost to the National Health Service for the administration of the Prescription Exemption Checking Service or for collecting any associated prescription fines. The service is self-funding and is run by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA), a Special Health Authority and an arm's length body of the Department. The NHS BSA is a non-profit-making Authority and all monies recovered after operating costs are handed to NHS England.