Dear Sir or Madam,

It has been widely reported that only 11% of prescriptions actually
attract a prescription charge, the rest being exempt for a variety
of reasons.

Pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act please supply for the
last 12 month period available the following information:

* The total sum collected in NHS prescription charges

* The total cost associated with the collection of those charges
including but not restricted to administration costs,
payments/allowances/write-offs/stipends to pharmacies and others
related to the collection of prescription charges (and associated
activities), bank charges, auditing costs &c

* The total income to the NHS from prescription charges net of all
associated costs.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Booth

Thank you for your enquiry.

We aim to respond within 20 working days.
If there is likely to be any delay we will contact you to let you know.

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9 March 2009
DE00000395783
Dear Mr Booth,

Thank you for your email of 5 March requesting, under the Freedom of
Information Act, information about NHS prescription charges. Your email
has been passed to me for reply.
The NHS Information Centre for health and social care bulletin
Prescriptions dispensed in the Community: statistics for 1997 to 2007:
England states that 88.6 per cent of prescription items were dispensed
free of charge in 2007 (table 2). A copy of the bulletin is available at:
[1]www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/prescriptions/prescriptions-dispensed-in-the-community-1997--2007-%5Bns%5D.
The estimated outturn for prescription charge income in England in 2007/08
is -L-421million. This does not include income from prescription charges
collected by dispensing doctors,
The total cost associated with the collection of prescription charges is
not separately identifiable and therefore no estimate of the net income to
the NHS can be made.
I hope this reply is helpful.
If you have any queries about this email, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your
original letter and should be addressed to:

Section Head
Freedom of Information Unit
Department of Health
Room 334b
Skipton House
80 London Road
SE1 6LH

Email: [2][email address]

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally,
the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by the Department. The ICO can be contacted at:

The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

David Winks
Customer Service Centre
Department of Health

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Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data...
2. mailto:[email address]

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department of
Health's handling of my FOI request 'Income from prescription
charges vs cost of processing'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/in...

The particular point I am dissatisfied with is the claim that the
costs of collecting prescription charges is not separately
identifiable. It does not seem realistic that the costs for a line
of business cannot be accounted for. Indeed it is rather worrying
and reminds me of those business horror stories from the 1960s and
before about companies making a loss on every unit of certain
products sold because they did not know the costs involved. In
these days of computerisation and strong auditing rules it is
doubtful that such money-blindness can still exist. It would seem
that this sort of fiscal obfuscation is just what SOX in the US and
the EU 8th directive in Europe are in place to prevent.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Booth

Thank you for your enquiry.

We aim to respond within 20 working days.
If there is likely to be any delay we will contact you to let you know.

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Dear Mr Booth,

Thank you for your email of 9 March 2009 requesting a review of the above
case. The review is underway and we will respond to you within 20 working
days.

Yours sincerely

Tracy Harris
Freedom of Information and Data Protection Support Officer
Information Services
Direct Line: 020 797 25952
GTN Tel: 396 25952
Email: [email address]
Address: Department of Health | Room 334B Skipton House | 80 London Road |
London SE1 6LH
Personal information is personal – keep it safe.

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Dera Mr Booth

Please find attached, the Department of Health's response to your request
for an internal review into your previous correspondence.

Yours sincerely

Tony Doole
Senior Casework Manager - Freedom of Information
Freedom of Information Team
Email: [email address]
Address: Department of Health | Room 317 Richmond House | 79 Whitehall |
London SW1A 2NS

(See attached file: Stephen Booth IR DE395783R Final 23.04.09 TD.pdf)

- - Disclaimer - -
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential. If you are
not the intended recipient, any reading, printing, storage, disclosure,
copying or any other action taken in respect of this e-mail is prohibited
and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify
the sender immediately by using the reply function and then permanently
delete what you have received.

Incoming and outgoing e-mail messages are routinely monitored for
compliance with the Department of Health's policy on the use of electronic
communications. For more information on the Department of Health's e-mail
policy click here http://www.dh.gov.uk/terms

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