Prescription charges frozen to help with cost of living crisis, Sajid Javid says (England)

[Northerner]

Prescription charges will be frozen for the first time in 12 years as a gesture to help with cost-of-living pressures, the government has said.

The move is one of a number of small measures that government departments have been ordered to find to reduce families’ costs, but comes amid criticism that steps taken so far have done little to ease the burden of rising bills and inflation.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said the freeze on charges, which usually increase in line with average inflation, would save people a total of £17m.

The Department of Health said charges for prescriptions would remain at £9.35 for a single charge or £30.25 for a three-month prescription prepayment certificate.

“The rise in the cost of living has been unavoidable as we face global challenges and the repercussions of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine. Whilst we can’t completely prevent these rises, where we can help – we absolutely will,” Javid said.

Prescription charges frozen to help with cost of living crisis, Sajid Javid says

Move will save total of £17m, says health secretary, as Labour and head of TUC say windfall tax needed to tackle issue

www.theguardian.com

Pointless. Why not just scrap them completely, as in the other home nations?

 

[Drummer]

Over the years I have been taking Thyroxine I have gone to the pharmacy to collect it and often heard someone asking which of the medications is most needed, as they could not afford to pay for all of them, or asking if they could take some and get the rest later.
Politicians seem oblivious to the choices ordinary people have to make when they cannot work.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

It certainly is a small measure.
Scrapping charges, (and providing free sanitary products across all the UK) should be in the next (emergency) budget.

 

[trophywench]

I remember being amazed in 1972 that my b/f's mom who'd had pretty severe asthma as long as I'd known her daughter at least, didn't get free prescriptions same as I now would.

Plus, prescription charges and cost of living don't belong in the same sentence. They are NOT part of the general cost of living - they're extras that don't fall into the same category as food heating light and transport - but ones you can't avoid when you need them, rather like sanpro and incontinence pads when you need those - and that latter isn't limited to only when you get free ones cos you're old, either.

 

[Leadinglights]

I remember it used to be a fixed price regardless of how many items there were on the prescription but then it changed to per item so that was when you got people asking the pharmacist did they need everything prescribed and very definitely they did as some medications were needed to counter side effects of others.

 

[IrvineHimself]

Scrapping charges, (and providing free sanitary products across all the UK) should be in the next (emergency) budget.

Up here in Scotland they already are free. The Pharmacist can also prescribe a lot of extras that would seriously deplete the pockets of those down South. You have absolutely no idea of the deranged rants coming from papers like the Mail and Express that Sturgeon gets for introducing these policies. They instead advocate tax cuts which, in reality, would only benefit the very rich.

Plus, prescription charges and cost of living don't belong in the same sentence.

Totally agree.

I remember it used to be a fixed price regardless of how many items there were on the prescription but then it changed to per item

As I recall, the official advice at that time was that many of items normally prescribed were cheaper to buy from the pharmacy shelves than the flat rate prescription charge.

 

[mikeyB]

The Mail and the Express don't rant against the Welsh Government or the Northern Irish Assembly for introducing free prescriptions. Free sanitary products for women may be more controversial, but that is because poor women in England aren't expected to to menstruate...or such products are never considered in the cost of living.

And they don't know whether this would have any effect on the cost of living because they don't know how many people ask the chemist if there are any of their prescriptions they absolutely need to take so they have money to feed their kids.And they usually say that you can reduce costs by taking out a yearly prescription charge, which is around £110 or so, a sum not attainable by millions out of their perilous income. The number of people living in both relative an absolute poverty is increasing dramatically. This has nothing to do with the cost of living. And then if they work the get hit wityh an increase in National Insurance, which specifically effectsa the poorly paid workers far more than it will affect those heartless and useless tory MPs, who only look after their pals in banking and industry.

 

[IrvineHimself]

The Mail and the Express don't rant against the Welsh Government or the Northern Irish Assembly for introducing free prescriptions.

They rant against Sturgeon for the flimsiest of reasons, she is a major hate figure.

I am not a great fan of the SNP, but their coverage is truly depressing. There are major crisis and scandals going on all the time, both at home and abroad and every day, for years, I walk past the daily's in the supermarket, look at the headlines, and it's a steady litany of: "Sturgeon This!", "Oh no! look what Sturgeon has done now!" .... "She has got to GO!"

I mean, how gullible do they think the Scottish people are? They will run a banner headline ranting against a policy Sturgeon has introduced, then the following week they will run a front page article praising some senior tory minister for introducing the exact same policy in England.

Until recently, I was a member of the old Liberal party and have been on their approved list of parliamentary candidates since the late 1970's, (still am I think?). On their behalf, on several occasions since returning to Scotland, I have stood as the official Liberal party candidate for the City of Edinburgh Council. Since Brexit, I have resigned from the Liberal party and now vote for the Greens, so believe me: When I say I am no fan of the SNP, I really mean it. However, the coverage of Sturgeon is so vitriolic, I always give the SNP my second choice vote, something I would not normally do if it hadn't been for the rabidly partisan press coverage of Sturgeon.

 

[trophywench]

Any amount of it is nob all to do with the pandemic, the special military operation in Ukraine or the B word. There is something rotten in the state of UK and we're lucky it's only started to stink now.

 

[Abi]

As regards sanitary protection- must be brutal to genuinely struggle to purchase it- either going without or facing hardship elswhere.
I would much rather that people had a living income and could afford their own . Seems somehow more dignified than being supplied directly.
And I believe cost of living has everything to do with poverty- cost of housing/ transport etc. There has IMHO been a cost of living crisis regarding rent etc for a long time but now I believe increasing and compounded by increase in cost of energy and food...
Perhaps when enough people have nothing to loose and get nasty those in power might take notice

 

[IrvineHimself]

Cost of living crisis? more like cost of lockdown crisis.

The problem with a successful public policy is that the masses never realise how bad it would have got without that policy being in place. If there had no lock-down, lock-down sceptics would be shouting an awful lot louder. Just ask Dick Farrel. Oh wait, you can't, he along with thousands of other vociferous COVID sceptics are dead.

The pandemic, restrictions, tax rises, furlough, business closures, massive government debts will all have an impact on the cost of living. ).

Very true

Just one example is the quantitative easing which has to be paid back at some point.

Just what exactly are you proposing, Calvin Coolidge's laissez-faire policies proved to be one of the greatest economic disasters in human history.

Then there is government debt, In March 2022, it was £2.34 trillion. The figure almost exceeds the size of the UK economy, with debt having reached 96.2% of gross domestic product (GDP).

I have no problem with these facts, it has been a hobby horse of mine for many years. However, by the context, you are implying, (without explicitly stating,) a solution that has historically proved to be disastrous.

At it's root, the UK's economic malaise starts with maintaining the pound as a reserve currency. While the associated Exorbitant Privilege is very attractive to politicians, the other side of the coin is the Triffin Paradox, which has destroyed the UK's manufacturing base and thus lead to an unskilled, low wage workforce which cannot easily absorb the current economic shocks of Brexit, COVID, Supply Chain Crisis, War in Ukraine.... etc

There are many other contributing factors, which, to a large part, are a direct result of rabidly ideological social and economic policy. But, as stated, the rot starts with the pound as a reserve currency.

For the last forty odd years, the focus of economic policy has been on tax cuts which are largely funded by increasing government debt. On a macroeconomic scale, these tax cuts only benefit the very few at the top of the pyramid, and, as a result, have resulted in a steady, continuous decline in living standards. So far, the benefits of Exorbitant Privilege have allowed the government to buy off the masses with cheap, readily available credit. But now, the chickens are all coming home to roost. The mantra of 'tax cuts' and 'austerity' has, (due to the associated financial pressure,) resulted in a deep, systematic failure of government at all levels, and the days of freely available credit are fast becoming increasingly unaffordable.

 

[mikeyB]

It was Thatcher who destroyed manufacturing in this country, in an effort to stop the Unions, and inflation and the cost of living is as much to do with Brexit as Ukraine. Boris went for the hardest break from the EU and we are now feeling the consequences of that. As are many businesses who export goods to the EU, with pages of forms to fill in just cross the channel.

 

[MikeyBikey]

It was Thatcher who destroyed manufacturing in this country, in an effort to stop the Unions, and inflation and the cost of living is as much to do with Brexit as Ukraine. Boris went for the hardest break from the EU and we are now feeling the consequences of that. As are many businesses who export goods to the EU, with pages of forms to fill in just cross the channel.

I saw the deviation in the NE in the 80s caused by Thatcher and the destruction of the coal and steel industries. Then I suffered a 15% mortgage.

If Johnson and Truss cause the NI peace process to break down they should be treated as war criminals. Truss is a good name for dealing with an oven ready turkey of a deal!

 

[IrvineHimself]

@Amity Island, @mikeyB:​

Not really disagreeing with the sentiment of what either of you said, but technically the malaise began long beforehand. It's difficult to put a precise date, but the Nixon Shock of 1971 is probably as good as any. I don't know if either of you are old enough to remember, but in the 60's the BBC would give almost weekly updates on the balance of payments and the current account deficit. Subsequent to the Nixon shock, these updates more or less ceased.

The reason for this was because, unlike Germany and France, successive British governments took the decision to support the pound as a reserve, or trading, currency at the expense of manufacturing. Essentially, to be a reserve currency, the pound needs exchange rate stability and offer liquidity in the form of debt. In other words, UK consumers get ready access to cheap credit which they then use to buy ever cheaper imports. This might sound good, but because of the need for exchange rate stability, the government cannot defend UK manufacturers from this flood of cheap imports by lowering the exchange rate to make UK manufacturing more competitive. This is why both Germany and France have a large and relatively healthy manufacturing base.

Even worse, because we are buying cheap imports on credit, the cumulative current account deficit is growing at an exponential rate. It's actually quite shocking, the curve for rise in the cumulative current account deficit more or less matches the curve for the fall in manufacturing.

 

[MikeyBikey]

I remember Nixon as a liar who had problems with inflation. Any resemblance to BoJo is purely intentional!

 

[IrvineHimself]

At the time, it was widely asked: Would you buy a used car from that man?

I understand and agree with the BoJo comparison. But ever since he first decided to run for president, Trump has always reminded me of Nixon.

 

[pinkjude]

Over the years I have been taking Thyroxine I have gone to the pharmacy to collect it and often heard someone asking which of the medications is most needed, as they could not afford to pay for all of them, or asking if they could take some and get the rest later.
Politicians seem oblivious to the choices ordinary people have to make when they cannot work.

I think if you dont work prescriptions are free

 

[mikeyB]

I think if you dont work prescriptions are free

That may have been true years ago, but you will find that getting free prescriptions is a sight harder then simply being out of work. You have to be receiving certain specific benefits (mainly related to disability, not just out of a job) as well as not having a partner who works. Nor having a set amount of assets.

 

[IrvineHimself]

I think the biggest potential shock to hit the world is currently going through review. It's the treaty between our country and the W.H.O

I must admit, this a new one to me, what exactly concerns you about the WHO?

give up our sovereignty and allow an external company to dictate how we respond to future pandemics. By the looks of it our country will no longer have control over our country.

If you are genuinely concerned about national sovereignty, what you should be screaming about is the CTTP. a successor to the failed TPP. This treaty [CTTP], is one that the same politicians who most vociferously decry the WTO on the grounds of national sovereignty, are the most vocal in support of joining.

Along with any future trade agreement with the US, the CTTP contains investor-state dispute settlement provisions which would allow foreign companies to sue host country governments for loss of profits, including future profits due to policy changes that promote national interest.

The WTO, by the way, has no such provision, and, under WTO terms, in any dispute with a sovereign government, multi-national corporations are forced to rely on a patchwork of local laws, often in US jurisdictions like Delaware. These local laws are also a major threat to national sovereignty, but there existence has absolutely nothing to do with the WTO, (or the WHO for that matter).

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Ukraine seems to be being held solely responsible for the UK's cost of living problems

I don't get that impression. The Bank of England governor was worrying about more than that in the select committee a couple of days ago.

But Ukraine seems the largest influence: this is (mostly) an increase in costs of things (energy and some ingredients for making fertiliser as well as basic foods like wheat are more expensive because Russia and Ukraine are significant suppliers). In addition, the continuing pandemic is causing problems in China (which produces lots of basic stuff), and a collection of problems has produced continuing shortages of some microchips. And Brexit has increased the costs of trading with the EU (that's one factor that's less mentioned, though the BoE did mention it). There are staff shortages (which doesn't yet seem to be causing wages to rise in general), and the BoE seemed to think an important part of that is an increase in long term disability, with some mix of long covid and people with unrelated chronic conditions who felt unwilling to reenter the workplace.

I can see why QE and government dept could cause inflation (and could cause problems in State spending) but I'm not sure why they'd be more than a rounding error in this case. This one's surely caused mostly by the costs of things going up for fairly clear reasons (the war, extreme infection control in China, Brexit costs), and people aren't getting enough of an increase in money to cover that?