Prescriptions Charges To Rise By 20P In England.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21629363

/// Free prescriptions were introduced in Wales in 2007, Northern Ireland in 2010 and Scotland in 2011. ///

Why should England be the only part of the UK to have to pay for prescriptions?

Why does the EU allow this discrimination?

[jake-the-peg]

There's no descrimination here

I's a power devolved to the local parliaments and they've decided what they do and do not want to spend their money on.

It's no more a descrimination than the different levels of council tax are in different regions.

[anotheoldgit]

jake-the-peg

And where is England's local parliament may I ask?

Your analogy regarding Council Tax, doesn't work.

Different levels of council tax are not only set in different regions, they are set at different levels in the same regions, according to the property.

[jake-the-peg]

The first is a good point - effectively it's Westminster who hold spending powers of this type and have made the decision not to provide free prescriptions.

The fact that different levels of council tax are set depending on property is entirely irrelevant to the argument.

The point is that powers are devolved regionally not dictated nationally or supranationally.


We don't have a European health service so there is absolutely no reason why this should even be considered.


Areas where Europe should be more involved are things like driving standards and enforcement.


Someone can pass a test anywhere in Europe under totally seperate standards and drive anywhere else - if they are disqualified from driving in one country they can drive with impunity in another.


that's the sort of issue the EU ought to be taking hold of - not whines about local taxation

[friedgreentomato]

Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have decided to spend their budgest on prescription charges.

Its nothing to do with the EU!

[Old_Geezer]

Always been proud that the NHS can claim to be free at the point of delivery ... oh hang on a minute ...

[FredPuli43]

What is the local Parliament for England ? Oh, dear, aog. The UK Parliament has devolved certain powers to local assemblies; setting prescription charges is incidental to one such power. It can't devolve powers to a local assembly for England because there isn't one. Or are you arguing for a complete split, with England, Scotland , Wales, and Northern Ireland becoming independent states ? Then you would have a local parliament for England. Now, it is akin to a federal, national parliament, with individual powers allowed to certain local assemblies.

And the EU regards such matters as purely internal to the states concerned, just as it does taxation and much else. And, obviously, you can't have some central ruling body on such a matter for 27 states with different systems of universal healthcare.

[anotheoldgit]

Anyone care to outline any benefit that English citizens receive, that the other three country's citizens of the UK do not?

[FredPuli43]

Yes,aog, English citizens don't have to live in Wales or Scotland (or Northern Ireland, come to that)

[eastern]

Soapy Salmond only did it to win favour with the Scots or at least those that are gullible enough to fall for his drivel. Wait until after the vote next year, win or lose they will be back. Mind you if they win they will have to sort out their own NHS which should be interesting that and an Army, Air Force, Navy and the benefit bill for Glasgow, biggest in the UK according to a recent survey mind you it was probably by the Daily Mail!

[anotheoldgit]

FredPuli43

Never thought of that, that is indeed most beneficial to all English patriots.

[wolf63]

I live in Scotland and I get free prescriptions. I think that this is wrong and that we should pay for them. We get free prescriptions but it is taken out of a budget - a budget that could probably be spent more wisely elsewhere.

I take about 9 different drugs each day and I used to buy a yearly prescription - for me it was cost effective but I was at least paying something into the pot.

I am not politically minded at all - trying to run a country must be a horrendous task. But buying votes with token freebies is wrong.

[LazyGun]

Oh, the irony of AoG appealing to the EU to rescue the english from the perfidious discrimination - of their own parliament :)

It is a regional issue, it would never be considered on an EU agenda, and even were we to magically receive a devolved english parliament, I doubt that ending the flagrant discrimination of prescription charges would figure very highly on anyones agenda.

90% of all prescriptions are dispensed free of charge, over 50% of the population are eligible for free prescriptions, and it raises over half a billion squid a year.

[emmie]

is that because the majority of prescriptions are for the elderly who are exempt, i still think it's a rip off, £7.85 for, tablets which may or may not help, but some people obviously need them?

[sir.prize]

I'd like to know why Scotland sent Frankie Boyle to England with his disgusting innuendos about young children.

[emmie]

i thought we sent him back,

[LazyGun]

@ Em Not sure why you think it is a rip- off, unless you think all medications should be free to everyone.

As to whether the medication will or will not work , thats because we are all individuals, and we will all respond to the therapy to differing degrees.

[baza]

sir.p it's because they didn't want him.

[sir.prize]

That figures, baza.

[emmie]

and you can spend an absolute fortune in finding ones that don't work or suit.. free, not free, we all pay in the end. except of course those people who are exempt.

[emmie]

almost 8 quid is a rip off if you are not eligible, why are medicines so damn expensive, after all you look at some cancer drugs, they can be thousands of pounds, if they help to save a life that's great. but the actual monetary cost can be enormous.