The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 272 No 7293 p405
3 April 2004

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Welsh Assembly (www.wales.gov.uk)

Further Welsh prescription charge cuts

Prescription charges in Wales will be cut by another £1 next year. Sue Essex, finance minister, Welsh Assembly Government, has announced that from April 2005 prescription charges in Wales will be reduced from £5 to £4, at an estimated cost of £11m.

This will follow the reduction from £6 to £5 that is due to take place on 1 October (PJ, 1 November 2003, p606). The Welsh Assembly has pledged to abolish prescription charges by 2007.

However, not all politicians believe this target is realistic. Kirsty Williams, spokeswoman for the Welsh Liberal Democrats, told The Journal: “The Labour Assembly government had an opportunity to make prescriptions free for those with long-term chronic illnesses about a year ago. They have failed to do that and now these people will have to wait another three years to benefit from free prescriptions. It seems that they have bitten off more than they can chew with their rash promise to make prescriptions free for all.”