Welfare Reform Bill

I appreciate that point. I was trying to make a distinction; namely, that to obtain free prescriptions, a claimant or patient would have had to have gone through a low income test, whereas someone who receives the contributory part of ESA would not have done so. If the noble Baroness’s criteria were fulfilled, that would in theory be the case, but the person would still not have been through the low income test which is required for free NHS prescriptions. However, we are looking at the matter, particularly given our desire to reduce bureaucracy and form-filling and to promote uptake of free prescriptions for all those who are entitled to them. I assure the noble Baroness that the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions take the matter very seriously, and discussions are under way. We look forward to the outcome of the review in the summer. I hope that noble Lords will withdraw the amendment on the basis of this discussion.