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Mrs. Renée Short
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of those currently eligible claim exemption from prescription charges.
Mrs. Chalker
It is not possible to provide an estimate of the number of people entitled to free prescriptions. In 1978, the last year for which figures are available, 307 million prescriptions were dispensed and of these about 193 million—63 per cent.—were dispensed free of charge.