To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2023 to Question 196282 on Prescriptions: Fees and Charges, what figures his Department used to determine that prescription charge revenue offsets for the costs of administering and enforcing the system.
Answered on
19 September 2023
The Prescription Exemption Checking Service (PECS) is delivered by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA); the role of the scheme administrator is to run and operate the service as commissioned by NHS England. Included within PECS is an enforcement service. NHSBSA investigate a random sample of prescription forms from patients who have claimed exemption from payment to verify the accuracy of the exemption declared. For 2022/23, the administration cost of the PECS at the NHSBSA was £8,918,498. For the same period, the charges recovered by the service totalled £10,354,816.
The total cost of prescription services includes funding through different routes, some services are shared with other NHSBSA functions, and some costs are incurred by other organisations. It is not therefore possible to provide total costs. Revenue from prescription charges and pre-payment certificates was £651,964,000 in 2021/22.