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HoC Answers - 13.11.08
Primary Care Trusts
Anne Main (Conservative, St Albans)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure primary care trusts (PCTs) pay their bills to pharmacists on time; what representations his Department has received from pharmacists on the late payment of bills by PCTs; and what estimate his Department has made of the average amount of time taken by PCTs to pay bills from pharmacists.
Dawn Primarolo (Minister of State for Public Health)
For essential and advanced pharmaceutical services, the Department ensures that pharmacy contractors are paid by the Prescription Pricing Division of the NHS Business Services Authority, to a published timetable. This centralised administrative payment function utilises both primary care trust (PCT) and central funds.
Payment for local enhanced pharmaceutical services is set by the commissioning PCT. Local arrangements determine the time scale for payment.
The Department has received no formal representations on the late payment of bills by PCTs or made any estimate of the average amount of time taken by PCTs to pay, directly, bills from pharmacists.
Posted 13 November 2008