Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received about prescription charges for people with lifetime health conditions in the last two years; whether they record the health conditions each such representation related to; and how many people in England they estimate are subject to prescription charges for such conditions.

We have received a number of representations from Parliamentarians, stakeholders, individuals and other interested parties on prescription exemptions for people with long term health conditions. Whether any specific health condition was mentioned in each such representation is not recorded centrally and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost. Furthermore, the Department has made no estimate of the number of people in England that are subject to prescription exemptions for such conditions. However, around 89% of National Health Service prescription items are dispensed in the community free of charge.