to wonder why people in England have to pay for prescriptions

[AtYourCervix]

and in Scotland and Wales they are free?

How the fuck can that happen?

Don't have time to read all of this but the Barnett Forumla needs to be scrapped.

I agree. Except funnily enough I doubt the MP's in Scotland/NI & Wales would vote for it.....oh look it's the West Lothian Question!

In my view, Scottish Parliament now has the right to raise their own taxes. So the playing field should be levelled and if they want better services than the rest of the UK then they can raise taxes to cover them.

More Sense - It's not really about need though is it? It's about a devolved government spending their budget as they see fit. Personally I think it's extravagant however it was an election promise. And Salmond likes his headline grabbers.

They could spend their budget on handing out free whisky if they so wished. Why would anyone expect a socialist government to implement the same policies as a tory one?

Currently only 10% of the population in England has to pay for prescriptions, the rest are exempt for one reason or another. But there is concern that 800,000 prescriptions a year are not collected in England due to the cost.

Clearly there is a 'squeezed middle' that is suffering under the current system.

However, if I were in Scotland, I would be more concerned about what I won't be getting due to prescriptions now being funded from the NHS budget free.

Er, Scotland is going to charge English students 6k+.

I think you misunderstand me Mollys. My point is that thanks to the Barnett formula, Scotland gets per person a lot more tax money than the same English person.

So yes, the Scottish government are spending their budget as they see fit. No objections to that. The problem is their budget is disproportionately higher than the English equivalent. So the Scots can afford things which the English can't because we give them more money so have less to spend ourselves.

If we all had the same size budget per person and they still managed to hand out free prescriptions then absolutely fair enough! Somehow though, I doubt that would happen.

zippy- I don't blame the English students for studying in Scotland.

What would be the point of that?!

English students have to pay for Scottish universities too you know. Only the Scots and studetns from other member states get it free.

Now tuition fees have risen to £9k, ENglish students will be charged £6k per year for Scottish uni's. SO a four year degree will be £24k for an English student and free for every Scot, German, French, Italian, Spanish, etc, etc , etc student.

It's a disgrace.

totally unfair. barnett formular needs to be scrapped or reformulated. If wales, scottland and NI can afford to scrap perscription charges and keep tuition fees so low they obviously don't need all this extra cash.

My children will leave uni with debts in excess of 50k because they live in england - would be totally different story if they lived in other area of UK

Scotland doesn't get free prescriptions because of devolution or because they don't vote conservative.

Scotland, Wales and NI get more money per head of population. This is not based on any rational formula taking into account ruralness, deprivation or level of ill health. It is a historical anomaly. Allocation of money between countries is based purely on a certain amount of money per head of population.

If everyone got the same amount per head of population, or the money was allocated on a formula based on things like ill health, disadvantage, ruralness, etc - I wouldn't care that other countries have things like free prescriptions when England doesn't.

But it is very easy for countries to decide to fund things such as free prescriptions when they get more money than England. That is why it is so unfair and people in England get annoyed.

iirc, the calculation was partly based on the fact that a huge percentage (75%) of presecriptions in Scotland were free anyway under current exemptions (the same as in England) and the cost of administering the payments for the rest was about the same as the revenue received.

But can we have a bit less knee-jerk Scotland bashing, please? The funding situation is a lot more complex than people are making out - tax revenue from Scottish people and industry (notably oil and whisky) is substantial, and also pays for things like, oh, say, the Olympics...

i think the scotts get 1.5k extra per head and welsh 1k extra per year.

But can we have a bit less knee-jerk Scotland bashing, please?

How much English bashing do you think there would be if England got all the freebies and Scotland and Wales didn't? A hell of a lot more!

It's high time the English did somethnig about this. If they can afford all these things that we can't then they don't need our taxes.

habbibu - i have no intention of stopping scottish and welsh bashing over this. its a totally unfair situation and should be stopped.

the tax you pay into a system does not reflect the amount of tax you get back - and even if it did, don't forget how much revenue the city of london and the south generate.

Mollys - I do agree that it is extravagant to an extent but the Welsh Assembly Government's decision to abolish prescription charges was based on the post industrial legacy of ill health and I do think that need played a factor, at least in Wales.

Not sure about the whisky (!) but obviously it's ridiculous to expect socialist and tory government policies to be the same.

Wow, I knew about the no fee thing for Scottish students, but didn't know English students have to pay. Especially shocked we pay for those from other countries but not for English students. I agree, it's a disgrace.

Can't see it lasting though in this economic climate. There's simply no way such expenditure can be sustained.

The SE gets quite a high per capita allowance, I think - higher even than Scotland. Anyway, why not vote for parties that offer a referendum on independence, then? Wouldn't that solve the problem? Scotland wants its own tax-raising and spending powers anyway, and can keep its own revenue - job done?

What do you mean not sure about the whisky? Massive export industry.

actually, if you take into account 'local' taxes like road tax that are paid to the Exchequer, as well as oil etc, Scotland is paying more in than it's getting out. or so sayeth some Harvard (or Yale, can't remember) economics professor last year. will find the interview when i get a minute. so Barnett not as clear cut as it would seem.
all Scotland''s parly is doing is trying to represent the political will of the country using the money they are given by westminster... we didn't vote tory, we are more socialist by inclination.

am kind of shocked at many of the answers here, tbh. you english really have to take this up at your local elections, not somehow manage to blame the scots and welsh for voting differently... that's just silly.

*I was one of them, I need 2x each of brown, blue and green and purple inhalers a month, and also a prescription for another condition.

It costs me 5 x £7.20 a month.*

A pre payment certificate will cost you about £104 per year so a huge saving. It isn't fair but it's cheaper than paying £7.20 x 5.

habbibu - I was just referring to Mollys' suggestion at 10:01 that 'They could spend their budget on handing out free whisky if they so wished', not denying the power of the export industry

you english really have to take this up at your local elections, not somehow manage to blame the scots and welsh for voting differently... that's just silly.

The local elections are not the problem since the Barnett formula is a central government thing.

And yes I'd love to see it looked into but I can bet you that any changes which level the playing field (ie. pays less money to the Scottish/Welsh & NI) would be voted against by the Scottish/Welsh & NI MP's who naturally have an interest in maintaining the status quo.

In other words, it will be hard to kick out because the very people who benefit the most can vote against it even if it is unfair.

Ah, sorry, moresense.

But seriously, why do you (people, not just moresense!) think most Westminster political parties are so keen to maintain a Union if the other countries are such a terrible drain?

aitchtwo - i don't understand your comment about the scotts and welsh voting differently. you haven't voted for the barnet formula - you just get the extra money each and every year. I'm sure if the english were ever consulted we would make our feelings known - but we never are.

i could overlook a bit of a difference - but my children are going to be massively in debt for life on leaving uni

you need to take that up at your local elections, then... it's ridiculous the way you all bleat about this as if nothing can be done. where is the english independence party and why aren't you voting for it if england is getting such a bad deal out of a united kingdom?

habbibu - probably due to voting and chances of getting into power again - i see this with labour, but confess i am confused that torries are keen since voting in scottland/wales seems so low for them