Skip to main content

NHS: Drugs

Volume 457: debated on Friday 23 February 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the drug budget for the NHS was in each year from 1997 to date, broken down by (a) the acute trust sector, (b) general practitioners and (c) other sectors. (122919)

The following table gives the total expenditure on drugs since 1997, and is broken down by primary care and the hospital and community health service (HCHS), which includes acute trusts. We do not collect drugs expenditure for other sectors.

£ million

Total outturn

Of which: primary

Of which: HCHS

1997-98

5,173

4,085

1,088

1998-99

5,550

4,339

1,211

1999-2000

6,202

4,833

1,369

2000-01

6,688

5,158

1,530

2001-02

7,447

5,707

1,740

2002-03

8,355

6,342

2,013

2003-04

9,271

6,960

2,311

2004-05

9,965

7,370

2,595

Notes:

1. Figures are net which include pharmaceutical price regulation scheme (PPRS) receipt savings. 2. The total drugs spend includes drugs expenditure in primary care and the HCHS. The primary care expenditure reflects amounts paid to pharmacy and appliance contractors and amounts authorised for dispersing doctors and personal administration in England. HCHS expenditure includes drugs and medical gases.

3. From 2000-01 figures are in resource terms, prior to this figures are in cash terms. Cash figures relate to February to January prescribing due to delay in prescription processing and payment calculations. Resource figures represent the actual cost between April to March. Source: Prescription pricing division of the NHS Business Services Authority, England and Department of Health's Finance Division.