Prescription Costs

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether, pursuant to the answer Official Report, column 81–82 on 18 December, he will publish a table showing prescription costs for each region and family practitioner committee area for 1986–87 and 1987–88 on the same price base as previously, showing both total cost and cost per head.

The information requested is set out in the table.

	April 1986 to March 1987		April 1987 to March 1988
	Total cost	Total cost per head	Total cost	Total cost per head
	(£ thousands)	(£)	(£ thousands)	(£)
Brent and Harrow	19,263	42·10	20,335	44·53
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	26,288	41·00	27,875	43·42
Hillingdon	9,313	40·14	9,941	43·00
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster	15,479	49·36	15,793	51·52
North West Thames RHA	141,039	40·81	149,101	43·15
Essex	60,214	39·82	65,564	43·08
Barking and Havering	15,461	40·03	16,406	42·60
Camden and Islington	14,350	40·85	15,213	43·03
City and East London	24,729	44·97	26,309	47·18
Enfield and Harringey	17,434	37·78	18,327	40·26
Redbridge and Walthamforest	19,355	43·61	20,419	45·93
North East Thames RHA	151,543	40·90	162,238	43·64
East Sussex	32,961	47·79	35,016	50·17
Kent	63,977	42·63	68,480	45·33
Bexley and Greenwich	16,290	37·19	17,498	40·03
Bromley	11,360	38·25	11,873	39·82
Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark	27,550	39·75	29,451	42·59
South East Thames RHA	152,138	42·04	162,317	44·65
Surrey	38,851	38·41	41,125	41·11
West Sussex	31,880	45·89	34,091	48·70
Croydon	12,183	38·16	12,615	39·52
Kingston and Richmond	12,309	41·63	13,010	44·06
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth	24,042	40·71	25,090	42·47
South West Thames Regional Health Authority	119,266	40·96	125,930	43·34
Dorsetshire	31,462	49·30	33,654	51·89
Hampshire	61,605	40·33	65,685	42·74
Wiltshire	20,770	38·10	22,527	40·89
Isle of Wight	6,350	50·96	6,664	52·52
Wessex Regional Health Authority	120,188	42·38	128,531	44·89
Berkshire	28,366	38·64	29,944	40·43
Buckinghamshire	22,972	37·48	24,568	39·54
Northamptonshire	21,523	38·82	23,474	41·79
Oxfordshire	21,008	36·55	22,421	38·79
Oxford Regional Health Authority	93,869	37·91	100,407	40·14
Avon	36,792	38·87	39,442	41·47
Cornwall	21,682	48·38	23,296	51·41
Devon	44,718	44·76	47,732	47·26
Gloucester	19,406	37·53	21,035	40·28
Somerset	19,069	42·48	20,405	45·11
South Western Regional Health Authority	141,666	42·17	151,910	44·83
Hereford and Worcester	25,781	39·39	27,899	41·93
Salop	16,202	41·26	17,516	44·18
Staffordshire	42,618	41·74	45,627	44·41
Warwickshire	20,166	41·95	22,051	45·54
Birmingham	48,036	47·84	51,431	51·52
Coventry	13,657	44·00	14,858	48·10
Dudley	11,698	38·88	12,629	41·73
Sandwell	14,515	48·21	15,656	52·47
Solihull	8,395	41·52	9,219	45·21
Walsall	12,551	47·94	13,652	52·15
Wolverhampton	11,806	46·87	12,653	50·51
West Midlands RHA	225,426	43·51	243,182	46·79
Cheshire	41,224	43·55	44,295	46·53
Liverpool	24,578	50·89	26,154	54·95

	April 1986 to March 1987		April 1987 to March 1988
	Total cost	Total cost per head	Total cost	Total cost per head
	(£ thousands)	(£)	(£ thousands)	(£)
St. Helens with Knowsley	15,905	45·21	16,973	48·67
Sefton	13,356	44·82	14,507	48·80
Wirral	16,539	49·40	17,861	53·35
Mersey RHA	111,601	46·23	119,790	49·73
Lancashire	69,366	50·24	74,441	53·89
Bolton	11,373	43·48	12,024	45·85
Bury	8,782	50·88	9,289	53·48
Manchester	21,449	47·52	23,118	51·37
Oldham	9,667	43·94	10,341	47·12
Rochdale	9,697	46·94	10,538	50·99
Salford	13,089	54·70	13,847	58·26
Stockport	13,092	45·16	14,245	48·94
Tameside	9,729	45·21	10,569	48·94
Trafford	10,940	50·58	11,670	54·00
Wigan	14,944	48·74	16,009	52·12
North Western RHA	192,128	48·51	206,093	52·03

1. The figures include prescriptions dispensed by retail chemists, appliance contractors and dispensing doctors.

2. Total cost includes the basic price of the drug less discount plus dispensing costs and fees.

3. Figures are based on OPCS estimates of resident populations for mid years 1986 and 1987.

4. Figures for 1986–87 and 1987–88 have been revalued to 1988–89 prices using the GDP deflator.

Volume 164: debated on Thursday 11 January 1990