asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Coventry, South-West,Official Report, 23rd December 1976, column 319, that exemption from, or a refund of, prescription charges is available to anyone aged 16 years or over, whether or not he is in full-time education and irrespective of his parents' circumstances, whose income in relation to his requirements as assessed by supplementary benefit standards is insufficient to leave enough over to pay the prescription charge without difficulty, which Department of Health and Social Services leaflet makes this clear and on which form an application should be made.
The prescription form, FP10, and forms FP57, FP91 and FP95 refer patients to leaflet M11, which contains full information on the various benefits, including exemption from prescription charges, available to everyone over the age of 16 years on low income grounds. Leaflet M11, which contains an application form, does not specifically say that young people over 16 years of age can claim exemption irrespective of their parents' income. The leaflet is revised annually, and the possibility of amending it will be considered at the next opportunity.