Prescription charges increase yet again in a fortnight (to £8.60 each), so now's a good time to remind anyone having more than 12 prescriptions over a full year that a PPC (Prepayment Certificate) will save money - and potentially a lot of money.
The 12 month PPC costs just £104, and the 3 month one costs £29.10. And the 12 month PPC will cost just £10.40 a month (for 10 months only) with a direct debit.
IF YOU'RE BUYING JUST 2 ITEMS A MONTH THIS WILL SAVE YOU MONEY - £102.40 A YEAR WITH 2 ITEMS A MONTH, AND ANOTHER £103.20 FOR EACH ADDITIONAL MONTHLY PRESCRIPTION.
OVER £300 A YEAR SAVED ON 4 PRESCRIPTIONS A MONTH
Two additional things to remember, though:
1 Certain medical conditions will give you a completely free medical exemption certificate (see below*)
and
2 You can claim back previous prescription costs for up to 3 months after buying the PPC so long as you ask the chemist for and retain the receipt forms FP57.
If you have to pay for prescriptions while you are waiting for a new PPC and need to apply for a refund, ask the pharmacist for a refund and receipt form (FP57) in order to claim back the costs. You can claim for the refund of prescription charges up to three months after paying. The refund and receipt form (FP57) explains what to do.
*People with certain medical conditions can get free NHS prescriptions if:
they have one of the conditions listed below, and they hold a valid medical exemption certificate.
Medical exemption certificates are issued on application to people who have:
a permanent fistula (for example caecostomy, colostomy, laryngostomy or ileostomy) requiring continuous surgical dressing or requiring an appliance
a form of hypoadrenalism (for example Addison's disease) for which specific substitution therapy is essential
diabetes insipidus or other forms of hypopituitarism
diabetes mellitus, except where treatment is by diet alone
hypoparathyroidism
myasthenia gravis myxoedema (that is, hypothyroidism requiring thyroid hormone replacement)
epilepsy requiring continuous anticonvulsive therapy
a continuing physical disability which means the person cannot go out without the help of another person. Temporary disabilities do not count even if they last for several months
Or are undergoing treatment for cancer: including the effects of cancer, or
the effects of current or previous cancer treatment
___________________________________________________________
You can get free NHS prescriptions if, at the time the prescription is dispensed, you:
are 60 or over
are under 16
are 16-18 and in full-time education
are pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months and have a valid maternity exemption certificate (MatEx)
have a specified medical condition and have a valid medical exemption certificate (MedEx)
have a continuing physical disability that prevents you from going out without help from another person and have a valid MedEx
hold a valid war pension exemption certificate and the prescription is for your accepted disability
are an NHS inpatient
You are also entitled to free prescriptions if you or your partner – including civil partner – receive, or you're under the age of 20 and the dependant of someone receiving:
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or
Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
Universal Credit and meet the criteria
If you're entitled to or named on:
a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate – if you don't have a certificate, you can show your award notice; you qualify if you get Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits with a disability element (or both) and have income for tax credit purposes of £15,276 or less
a valid NHS certificate for full help with health costs (HC2)
Top comments
1854
17 Mar 1771#1
free prescriptions in Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland if I remember rightly ...... meanwhile back in England ......
:neutral_face:
jaybizzle
17 Mar 1743#11
Loads of free money? Scotland has been subsiding the UK for a long, long time.
If Scotland had been independent lets say since 1980 it would currently have a substantial surplus, even after the last two extremely bad years for oil revenue.The Scottish Exchequer would have zero debt and tens of billions of pounds in the bank to protect it from a sustained oil downturn, even if it had exactly matched reckless and wasteful UK government spending over the entire period.
The rUK, not Scotland, has been the recipient of cross-border subsidies over the past 40 years or so. Prof. Ashcroft calculates that even factoring in considerably higher levels of public spending, Scotland has only had £95 back for every £100 it sent to Westminster.
iant67
17 Mar 1722#19
Lol, don't believe everything the BBC tells you. Do a bit of your own research and you'll see that everything you have said is false. You are clearly just another butt hurt English person, who knows they get shafted at every turn, and wish you were living in Scotland so you could reap the benefits of a government who cares about their country.
Skaman
17 Mar 1718#4
It is a joke that the rest of the UK gets free prescriptions but the price continues to rise in England
All comments (201)
1854
17 Mar 1771#1
free prescriptions in Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland if I remember rightly ...... meanwhile back in England ......
:neutral_face:
Newbold
17 Mar 172#2
Back in England.......we have the Conservatives. And we all know what that means for the health service: it's great, but only if you can afford private medical cover. :confused:
1854
17 Mar 1714#3
Oh I'm sorry I didn't notice free prescriptions were available for all 1997 to 2010 , that'd be a Labour Government :smirk:
Skaman
17 Mar 1718#4
It is a joke that the rest of the UK gets free prescriptions but the price continues to rise in England
red23 to Skaman
17 Mar 17#65
More of a joke for how much we need to pay to build your stupid train lines, Olympic/Wembley stadiums and nuclear submarines. Probably a cool £100 billion right there.
rvcshart
17 Mar 171#5
Fairly sure I save more than 300. So why only potential £300 savings?
9*8.60 *12
928.8
Tho I think I could get the exemption card from one of my ailments but never bothered looking, just been using the PPC for a couple years.
And yes, the fact only England pays annoys me greatly. Same with Scottish education, we pay the same tax rates.
alg
17 Mar 171#6
Do we? The Scottish government have only just been given the powers to increase Income tax, and have made some changes for the next financial year...
Gabi
17 Mar 171#7
Roasting.
kay1992
17 Mar 17#8
£10 each soon.
rogparki
17 Mar 178#9
That bloke Barnett has a lot to answer for :confused: . "Give the Jocks loads of money as their economy is a total failure " Hmmm! - then they spend this extra money on Free Prescriptions , Free Universities etc , and who pays ? yes 85% of it is paid by the hated and much envied English taxpayer .
Bring on the next independence vote - I and 80% of English folk would vote for it (sadly we don't get a vote :disappointed: )
bigwheels
17 Mar 172#10
Ouch I get nine items a month.
10 every 3rd month.
If not for my exemption card I would be broke.
jaybizzle
17 Mar 1743#11
Loads of free money? Scotland has been subsiding the UK for a long, long time.
If Scotland had been independent lets say since 1980 it would currently have a substantial surplus, even after the last two extremely bad years for oil revenue.The Scottish Exchequer would have zero debt and tens of billions of pounds in the bank to protect it from a sustained oil downturn, even if it had exactly matched reckless and wasteful UK government spending over the entire period.
The rUK, not Scotland, has been the recipient of cross-border subsidies over the past 40 years or so. Prof. Ashcroft calculates that even factoring in considerably higher levels of public spending, Scotland has only had £95 back for every £100 it sent to Westminster.
Bilbo1968
17 Mar 177#12
Independence - good - get on with it.
jaybizzle
17 Mar 1710#13
We're trying, but your overlord wont let us go.
flojo1
17 Mar 175#14
I thought we voted No !!
Bilbo1968
17 Mar 173#15
Quicker the better.
InTheKnow444
17 Mar 17#16
Ordered
It's the same price as 1 prescription charge per month.
Sometimes I have 5 in the same month so it's a no brainer.
decepticon_shadow
17 Mar 171#17
The medication I have I get in 3 month doses so I when I need to get my meds take out the 3 month card then before it expires I get my next 3 months worth. Doing that I only have to pay for 2 3 month cards a year and not a annual card. If anyone has a ruck load of tablets dispensed in 3 months doses try doing it like this.
jaybizzle
17 Mar 171#18
k
iant67
17 Mar 1722#19
Lol, don't believe everything the BBC tells you. Do a bit of your own research and you'll see that everything you have said is false. You are clearly just another butt hurt English person, who knows they get shafted at every turn, and wish you were living in Scotland so you could reap the benefits of a government who cares about their country.
alexc648
17 Mar 171#20
Exemption card will cover all perscriptions not just for the ailment that qualifys you for it
themachman
17 Mar 17#21
My doctor gives me 3 month supplies so works out cheaper than getting one of these
red_steve
17 Mar 1710#22
Vote Tory. You get screwed. The quicker you learn this the better....
Bilbo1968
17 Mar 176#23
Red Steve.....Right on comrade - where as if you vote Labour you're just **** lol.
Chiptivo
17 Mar 173#24
meanwhile back in England we have to pay for it...
cburns
17 Mar 172#25
Scotlands free prescriptions...for now...it's aging population will swipe that one off the books
and a lot sooner than you think :wink:
alecb
17 Mar 172#26
This might help some people - hopefully!
If you're taking something like "Soluble Aspirin" don't bother getting it on prescription and paying £8.60 or whatever it is. Soluble Aspirin is an Over the Counter (OTC) medicine that doesn't need a prescription and costs about £1 for 100 tabs - 75 mg. That's over 3 months supply for most people so save yourself some money.
It's worth asking your pharmacist whether any of the medicines that you have been prescribed are available OTC and if they are then pay for them separately if they cost less than £8.60.
Saved myself a few quid years ago when I was taking Sol Asp.
Good luck!
decepticon_shadow
17 Mar 176#27
A good pharmacist should advise people if it's cheaper over the counter.
damadgeruk
17 Mar 172#28
'We' voted to stay part of the UK though we also voted to stay part of the EU. Surely being dragged out of the EU means another independence referendum is our right.
Firefly1
17 Mar 1712#29
My road voted to stay part of the EU. I reckon we should draw a line around my road and have another referendum, as we voted to remain. Fortunately, my road would now vote to remain within the U.K. as we would never be allowed back into the E.U. as:
a) Fact: We have to leave the EU and therefore re-apply
b) My road deficit - and the North of the U.K. (Scotland) has too large a deficit to re-join the EU
c) The area to the South (England/Wales) would never let an independent country keep the pound - because it's independent and the currency (via the Bank of England) would not be interested in Scotland as it would have independece - you can't have an independent country that has no influence over its currency.
d) Good luck with the Euro :smile::smile::smile:
brendanhickey
17 Mar 172#30
sorry but that's bankrupting the nhs. the idea of socialised medication is that you pay £8 for cheap **** but also pay £8 for expensive drugs. the drugs that costs cheaper are subsidising the expensive stuff therefore the mean price is at £8. if everyone stopped buying expensive cheap medication from the nhs the mean price of the subscriptions would increase.
Quillon
17 Mar 172#31
I though the ballot paper only asked if you wanted to remain in the UK? Or is this too simple and lots of other options were printed in white ink?
teggl97
17 Mar 171#32
Also, do try to actually take care of yourself and try to contribute to society. Don't sit on the couch milking the NHS cow of its juices complaining about costs going up. It won't last forever if things carry on.
Danze1984
17 Mar 172#33
My mum has been doing this for years. How is it a deal?
ezzer72
17 Mar 171#34
We all NEEDED free prescriptions then as we all lived in poverty!
I'm quite happy with my current financial circumstances and paying £8 here and there.
teggl97
17 Mar 17#35
Sour grapes is what it's called
Chiptivo
17 Mar 17#36
I do take advantage in a way. I use a certain product that is now only on prescription. A woman (initially found on ebay) in Scotland sells me them and posts them. Sometimes the item in the boxes still has the dispensing sticker on them. lol
rickj
17 Mar 17#37
Good God stating the bloody obvious ...get a gig with Martin lewis bud
damadgeruk
17 Mar 171#38
Majority in Scotland voted to remain in the EU, did you forget?
eatmorefish
17 Mar 172#39
Spent 400 million on a building (Parliament), 700 million on 8 miles of tram track. Absolutely unbelievable. Good luck Scotland, you are gonna need it.
sofiasar
17 Mar 17#40
wow £8.60.
no wonder they don't give you appointments !
jeffsmaw
17 Mar 172#41
You do realise that when a country takes independence it automatically is not part of the EU? The UK joined the EU as a whole. If Scotland becomes independent it will be independent of the UK AND Europe. Nicola will be thrilled but the rest of Scotland will be screwed.
jans
17 Mar 171#42
The people that are on exemption certificates that take the p*** by taking advantage of the system and requesting prescriptions for what would be [much cheaper] over the counter medications would save the NHS a packet.
metronome
17 Mar 172#43
Love how you all go on about Tories ripping the NHS off, you forget that the NHS is only possible by the low salaries that the medical staff get compared to other countries and professions... As it's the fifth biggest employer in the world this is a monumental expense... The NHS is already privatised and rightly so, its the staff that will be paid better salaries that this should be going to. Sure locum staff are a massive expensive (effective privatisation, but so what, they deserve to paid a decent wage!)
As for Tories wrecking everything in their underfunded budget, you forget there's a £10billion black hole! No amount of good will is going to fill that...
Unlimited EU migration will always be > than the NHS budget...
So next time you complain about paying £8 think about all the staff being extremely little with no real chance of pay rise for the amazing work they do!
brendanhickey
17 Mar 171#44
no over the counter medication costs the nhs millions. things like paracetamol they nhs pays a couple of pennies for but sell them for £8. the profit they make are subsidising the expensive cancer drugs that got hundreds of pounds. the millions on people paying £8 for cheap medicine are supporting expensive cancer drugs. all meducation on the nhs is the same price.
londonstinks
17 Mar 172#45
Still cheap as chips anyway compared to USA.
smk77
17 Mar 175#46
Yes, because independence means we'll be back in the EU :confused:
We're leaving the EU whatever happens. It wasn't my choice. However, Scotland has a better chance with trade deals negotiated by the UK than going it alone. It makes absolutely no economic sense to leave the UK. The only reason to leave is the argument over not been run by Westminster which was clearly rejected in 2014 by a big majority and there is no evidence to suggest that public opinion has changed. There is NO need for a re-run regardless of what's in the SNPs manifesto.
damadgeruk
17 Mar 17#47
Yes, I realise that, thank you. Did you infer I wanted Scottish independence?
rogparki
17 Mar 171#48
Nice try :smiley: I think the only reason we (Theresa May) would like to keep the union is tradition , which I also support . However If the Scots are so determined for self destruction bring it on - Go your own way .
Maybe the overriding calculation is that an independent Scotland would need so much aid in the future - An appeal we could not refuse ?Our already strained foreign aid budget could not run to funding another failed state .
rogparki
17 Mar 17#49
Good on you - please vote for independence and see how Scotland does without the subsidies from the (mainly English ) Taxpayer
smk77
17 Mar 171#50
I think you need reminding that "the Scots" voted under 3 years ago to remain part of the UK. "The Scots" aren't determined for self destruction. The English have done that for themselves and rest of the UK with Brexit.
smk77
17 Mar 172#51
Most of England is subsidised by London. In fact, Scotland contributes more to the treasury than all but 2 regions of the UK.
micpwelsh
17 Mar 17#52
Remember Scotland independence = €8.60 per prescription
rogparki
17 Mar 171#53
The Jocks - love them as we do . Rather like a Facebook duped teenager , wants to leave home ,cos it'll be better ! No idea why , just wants independence . Thinks its cool :disappointed: then tries to return to the family tail between the legs a few years later . Maybe we will have them back maybe not . Their calculation is - "lets give it a go no way the rest of the UK will let us sink into poverty like Greece " A difficult question ,I for one would want to spend billions of my tax payers money to bail out the "Prodigal Son " in a few years time , but how many others would ?
I would not mourn the departure of the Scots from the Union , but it would become just another failed nation to bail out in a year or two . And remember the present government will always be opposed to Scottish Independence - for those who are struggling with it - there is a clue in the full name . The Conservative and Unionist Party .
tonypop
17 Mar 173#54
Instead of crying about what Scotland uses its funding for you could always vote in a party that is interested in looking after citizens. Currently the Scotish gov offers free prescriptions, free education and alleviates the Tory bedroom tax for the poorest in society.
XP200 to tonypop
17 Mar 171#61
Bingo.......England voted for a majority tory government, so why is Scotland getting the hate, send the hate to the 34% of middle England who voted these animials back in again for a second term, was not the Scots or Welsh who voted them in. Lol
AmNoFool
17 Mar 17#55
I just fill the back in to get it free been doing it for donkey years no bloody way with the amount of medication I need in a month am I gonna pay for it paid far to much in National Insurance
I mean I would of paid thousands upon thousands by now
Just fill the exempt on the back no one ever checks hahaha
Bilbo1968 to AmNoFool
17 Mar 175#56
You're quite simply a criminal. I really hope you get caught and are made to pay for everything you've ponced off the NHS.
Badbear to AmNoFool
17 Mar 171#62
They do check. I know someone who's been caught twice in the last year and got charged high penalties as well as the original prescription costs.
samspud
17 Mar 17#57
Unfortunately I work for a living supporting the country I live in so have to pay full price for my prescriptions. Ohhhh to be a lazy resource sucking chav with 4 kids
Badbear
17 Mar 17#58
I have cancer so yay me :smiley:
micpwelsh to Badbear
17 Mar 172#64
I was going to like your comment then realised how bad that would be :confused:
They'll be coming for you at some point, with a claim for all the money cheated, along with penalties. :smile:
aeykeay
17 Mar 171#60
Very considerate OP....well done and thanks for sharing....this can help a lot of people......Hot hot hot !!!
mattcampbell68
17 Mar 171#63
Thanks for that OP.
I for one are hoping for a YES vote in #indyref2 and the jocks vote to leave. All we can hope for is a good border control with a &€ 20 entrance border fee and most importantly, they use the Euro as the £ will not be an option. Just sort the nuclear flask issue and goodbye and good riddance
Badbear
17 Mar 174#66
Hey don't feel bad, I like likes :smiley: I'm having chemo, it's all fine. I don't think it's spread anywhere else, fingers crossed :smiley:
AmNofoolbad
17 Mar 17#67
No they don't!
I am 63 and never been caught hehehe.
I've fecking paid enough in NI that's why they don't check me!
BustaLinx
17 Mar 17#68
...
scottyjim
17 Mar 17#69
5 billion to be spent on parlament, 350 million on buck house, 55 billion on Hs2 i can go on? and scotland has to pay its share of all this cost
Bilbo1968
17 Mar 17#70
Leave then - just stop bleating on - we've heard it for 400 years.
scottyjim
18 Mar 171#71
Chill mate was only answering a post about us wasting money and wasn't even your post? go have a nice cup of sweet tea and listen to relaxing music you seen stressed.
Bilbo1968
18 Mar 171#72
No stress here - just fed up with the scots blowing hot air.
77andyb
18 Mar 17#73
Sorry, but you're somewhat misguided. People that buy items prescribed for them instead of paying the prescription charge is not bankrupting the NHS. Somebody commented that a good pharmacist will tell you if you can buy your item for less than the prescription charge, something the GP may not have known. A good GP would tell you if you can buy what you need more cheaply, either from a pharmacy or a supermarket, but they don't always know. There are other costs associated with dispensing a prescription other than the cost of the item to the NHS too, so not processing the prescription can potentially save money.
It's true that loads of meds cost very little, much less than the fee, but as they are Prescription Only, you can only get them by paying the charge, and this does help to balance out the instances where people have a prescription for a very expensive medicine, but they still pay the same fee. I think that's fair enough for Prescription Only meds, but a GP or Pharmacist advising that a product can be bought more cheaply than paying for a prescription charge is no bad thing, and can potentially save the NHS money as it's one less dispensing fee to pay the pharmacist, plus the costs of processing pharmacist's claims for dispensed prescriptions.
I found out my Vitamin D levels were dangerously low. GP was about to print prescription off. I asked what strength I needed and how long I needed to take it for. He told me, and I said "Don't worry about the script then, I know I can buy that strength and amount for less than the prescription charge". He seemed delighted that someone had actually asked the question, and said they'd buy it themselves. He's probably used to dealing with a lot of people who demand a prescription because they don't feel they've received the "proper treatment' unless they walk back out through the waiting room, brandishing a prescription as if to make a point of "See, I have prescription, I *am* ill!" But I digress. Fact is that if a GP doesn't know a tube of cream can be bought in a pharmacy for less than the prescription charge, and the pharmacy advises you can buy it instead, there's nothing wrong with that. It's always worth asking in the pharmacy if your prescription can be bought for less than the charge. Often it depends on pack size though. Doc may have prescribed a huge tube of cream, but it could be available to buy in a smaller size. The pharmacist or dispenser should be able to tell you which way works out cheaper, so it may still be better value to pay the charge for a larger tube of cream on prescription than it would be to buy a smaller tube of the same stuff. My first job was in a pharmacy and not only did we advise if something could be bought for less than the fee, we often advised people of cheaper generic meds available, e.g. Ibuprofen rather than Nurofen. Some decided to go with the much cheaper generic, others just had faith in the main brand, so still went for it at 2 or 3 times the price of the generic. Their choice at the end of the day, but we gained the trust and respect of customers as it showed them we were offering cheaper alternatives, whereas we'd probably make more money for just selling them the Nurofen requested. We felt that how we operated created trust and a good relationship with our customers, and they were more likely to come back to us again for repeat business, whatever product they were after.
Skaman
18 Mar 17#74
That makes no sense....did all the home nations not use the Olympic venues? Those nuclear submarines will protect the whole UK if called upon.....ridiculous comparison!
danieldraper96
18 Mar 17#75
How sick are you all? Think I've had like 1 prescription in 5 years. I'll take the hit when it comes
Firefly1
18 Mar 171#76
Not only that, but.... Those nuclear submarines keep a load of people employed in Scotland. Suddenly your employment rate in the surrounding area will sore as the U.K government insists all nuclear submarines are built & serviced within the territory of the U.K.
All you need to know is Labour were quite good actually, the Tories on the other hand are bankrupting us.
slannmage
18 Mar 17#78
Bitching and threatening Scotland isn't going to make them stay, the break up of the UK will be a lot worse for England than it is Scotland, especially if they stay in the EU and the English speaking portal into the EU becomes them and Ireland.
cheapshot
18 Mar 17#79
free prescriptions and irn bru.......hoots mon
steandange
18 Mar 173#80
The SNP don't represent most of us Scots!! United and proud
Firefly1
18 Mar 17#81
No fear of them "staying" in the EU. It is completely impossible as they would be an independent nation and therefore not a member of the EU. Any referendum would of course happen after the U.K. leaves, so the U.K. wouldn't be in the EU at this point either, anyway (Nicola knows this, but is trying to get outrage from within Scotland by calling for a vote now; strengthening her position. But a vote would never happen before Brexit is completely over).
They won't be rejoining the EU anytime soon, no matter what Sturgeon says, due to the budget deficit not meeting EU requirements. That's presuming Spain wouldn't veto their entry, which is certainly possible.
scottyjim
18 Mar 17#82
sorry OP voted hot on your post will help a lot of people :smiley:
smk77
18 Mar 17#83
Replace nuclear submarines with banks and Scotland with London. I see that situation being rather more detrimental given that the UK relies so heavily on the money the financial sector makes.
smk77
18 Mar 17#84
I am dead against indyref2 but in the event of a Yes vote there are options that would give Scotland a better deal than the UK could get.
Scotland could join the EFTA and EEA giving them access to the single market. This will surely be better than any Brexit negotiations.
Even if Scotland met the requirements to re-join Spain wouldn't have the reason to Veto like they would have done in 2014 given the UK will have left the EU. Possible but unlikely.
hukd_addict
18 Mar 17#85
Are you mental? London may as well split into it's own little nation for the good it does the rest of England, everything goes to the South, London primarily, and the North gets very little, well... except for dangerous Nuclear waste processing and fracking, we can't upset the conservative south can we? It wouldn't be so bad but not only that the south looks down on the north and northers, crazy.
hukd_addict
18 Mar 171#86
Why surely better? No one knows how the deal is going to pan out yet - but typical recent Scotland once again looking out for Scotland, not the UK. I believe we've more to offer together than separately but I'm very disappointed at the Scottish attitude to being part of the United Kingdom, do any of you even call yourselves British? Or you just say Scottish...
All that has come from your government since the day after the Brexit vote is comments sticking the knife in and Salmond's puppet Sturgeon. Scottish this Scottish that, what about British this and that, all I hear is talk about great Scotland's contribution is and nothing positive about the British Union, do people really think Scotland will come out rosy in this ? You are as much in the dark about how Scotland will cope on it's own as WE all are on Brexit.
London contributes way more into the economy than every other region of the UK yet spending is only marginally higher. In fact, the further north you go, the more is spent per head.
smk77
18 Mar 17#88
The UK isn't going to negotiate a better trade deal with the EU than the single market! Equal at best if the EU cave in which they won't.
Have a look at some of the anti Scotland posts here before making accusations of Scotland looking out for Scotland.
May I remind you that in 2014 the majority voted to remain part of the UK. I know very few people up here who voted to leave.
I agree with you that we have more to offer as a union as did the majority in 2014.
400,000 of us (me included) call ourselves English AND British.
As for the Scottish attitude, please don't conclude that everyone north of the border is a follower of wee jimmy krankie and her nasty party.
hukd_addict
18 Mar 17#89
I don't, but as I said, that is all that is coming across whenever the Scottish government speaks, hardline Scottish policy.
Can't do better than access to the single market? Scotland leaving the UK doesn't automatically get them access to the single market either.
What it does mean though is that can negotiate our own trade deals with the rest of the world on our terms - and make our own decisions without having to spend months persuading the rest of the EU to have one country veto it at the end, look - I'm not just reciting propaganda here, I voted to stay and believe we should, but we're leaving, and there are positives to be had, Scotland along with us will make our negotiating position stronger for both countries, but no one wants to acknowledge that. I know my previous comment was combative, too many morons annoy me.
sicklysweet
18 Mar 17#90
Random little fact which surprised me earlier this year.
A private prescription for a 7 day course of antibiotics (co-amoxiclav) only cost £2.29 on private prescription, and that's including the pharmacy's dispensing fee.
I was expecting it to cost £20-ish, not less than the cost of an NHS prescription.
The cheaper meds subsidise the more expensive ones, but I didn't realise antibiotics were so cheap. Cheaper than a 2 day box of sudafed (£5!).
sicklysweet
18 Mar 175#91
You do realise that being over 60 you are automatically exempt? So you're not going to get 'caught' :laughing:
sicklysweet
18 Mar 17#92
Oh and they do check prescription exemption status forms after they've been submitted.
I have medical exemption but when I moved house I didn't specifically inform the prescription card department as the NHS were informed of my change of address and I (wrongly) assumed that as part of the NHS it would all be linked.
Last year I received a letter informing me of a fine of around £250 for apparently incorrectly claiming medical exemption on my prescription forms!
Thankfully I just phoned them with my medical exemption number, updated my details & the fine was wiped off my account.
When I applied for a renewal of the medical exemption card about 6 months ago, first they sent me a card with a random man's name on, then they sent another with me as a Mr, and then another with the wrong first letter of my surname and eventually they got it right. Each time I had to contact them and then send the wrong one back, which was a pain. They were pretty inept.
No1_Dave
18 Mar 17#93
1.6m voted to remain in EU vs 2m voted to remain in the UK!
amour3k
18 Mar 17#94
The classic story of 'divide' that forever rears itself on a regular no end?, lol.
Its a tough one that .....
darthvader666uk
18 Mar 17#95
hang on I'm in Wales, we gonna be charged for prescriptions??? :disappointed:
XP200
18 Mar 17#96
Thank god for that ignore feature. Lol
pooool
18 Mar 171#97
Many GPs don't really know what ails some of their patients so they prescribe meds just to get rid of them. It might be an idea for us to consider whether we really need some of our meds at all. In any case, we can do our bit by changing lifestyle so we don't have to rely on them in the first place.
othen
18 Mar 17#98
Thank you fr posting that. I notice the huge sickies and scroungers list at the bottom, who do not have to pay. There can't be all that many left who do pay!
baroncols
18 Mar 17#99
It's called getting the Government you vote for. If you choose a party who are happy to impose prescription charges don't be surprised or moan when they do
warriorsq
18 Mar 172#100
Personally I'd rather not have my condition and then I'd not be a huge sickie and pay which would suit me!
belfastgeoff
18 Mar 17#101
ha ha ha, cost nothing in Northern ireland
kristoff
18 Mar 171#102
We don't pay tolls to go over our lovely bridges either, just saying like.
dinglebert
18 Mar 17#103
)[/quote]Spent 400 million on a building (Parliament), 700 million on 8 miles of tram track. Absolutely unbelievable. Good luck Scotland, you are gonna need it.[/quote]
7.1 billion to renovate House of Commons. There will be more space if the Scottish MP's aren't there so you should be able to save some of that.
damadgeruk
18 Mar 17#104
Those 2m voted to remain part of the UK while the UK was part of the EU!
telboy69
18 Mar 171#105
Great post,but again ruined by idiots that turn it into a political argument.sad people.
ourdevonfamily
18 Mar 172#106
That is all.:wink:
tonto1512
18 Mar 17#107
73.8% of Cambridge voted remain ? I havn't heard whether there planning on rejoining EU yet. Republic of Cambridge LOL..
iwearahalo2
18 Mar 17#108
The tartan tories care nothing but the independence of Scotland, then of course a union with Brussels................................
Lonyo
18 Mar 171#109
England has its own government?
Newbold
18 Mar 171#110
Brexit voting was directly related to the intelligence (or rather lack of intelligence) of the voters. So Cambridge and other similar places with a higher level of education and intelligence voted to remain, and places like Boston (low education/intelligence) voted leave.
Bought my 3 month prepayment certificate a week ago after 6 infections in less than 8 weeks. Thought by paying up front I would prevent another infection using sods law.
Didn't account for my doctor prescribing a months course of antibiotics when infection number 7 occurred 2 days later. When you think you have all bases covered....
spaceinvader
18 Mar 17#112
I got the doctor to double the dose of my medication, now I just cut the pills in half and I only have to buy one prescription every 2 months. I have a thing for penny pinching.
villan57
18 Mar 17#113
This isn't really a deal as it's always been there , my wife had a "season ticket" 25 years ago as she was on about 9 different items a month , she had to pay whereas me on Thyroxine had free prescriptions.
I believe something like only 1 in 4 people pay anyway , normally us mugs with jobs . The whole system is crazy !
I've been in a queue in the chemists where people are asking if they can just have particular items from their script as they can't afford all of them .
I'll be 60 this years so won't have to pay , even if I had to but I a still have a decent job and could afford to .
smk77
18 Mar 17#114
Correct. Scotland wont automatically get access to the single market on leaving the UK. However, that access via EFTA could be negotiated as part of the Brexit deal (assuming there was a Yes vote before the end of negotiations) or could be agreed shortly after by an independent Scotland. Scotland pretty much meets EU entry criteria so these comments about joining the back of the queue are nonsense. The current deficit is a problem but that can be overcome in the mid to long term.
xboxwhats
18 Mar 17#115
hahaha no this is just scaremongering from English people. You do realise it's gonna take some time for us to actually leave UK right? It's not gonna happen overnight if a poll passes. During that time we can start negotiating getting back into eu. which means we could technically be in the eu before we fully leave the UK or even if not we won't exactly be "alone" for a long period of time like you lot like to claim.
I bet you think once article 50 happens we've automatically left eu too. Not the way it works and it's effects won't be seen until probably 2 years later (which coincides with when sturgeon wanted to hold the second referendum for a reason :stuck_out_tongue: )
pink777
18 Mar 17#116
glad that i live in wales
jomay
18 Mar 17#117
However, if you factor in the cost of a GP visit then it is clearly not economical for the NHS. The GP visit alone would cost far more than £8.
So if you have an "OTC" prescription, sure, get it for £8. But you don't do the NHS any good if you go to the GP for every OTC drug you want.
alexfn
18 Mar 17#118
Both labour. We've got rid of them and the torys now.
Meanwhile
In englandshire your government wants to spend 7 times what it cost to build the burj khalifa to refurb Westminster. Thats right 7 billion. (will probably double)
Good luck englandshire without scotlands oil reserves you are going to need it.
jomay
18 Mar 172#119
I find this statistic incredibly insulting and dividing. And for no good reason! As an intelligent person I suspect that it is probably flawed because they should correct for salary first. I claim that the true story is this:
highly intelligent => earns lots of money (possibly because of the EU) => doesn't want anything to change => Remain
Or this: Cambridge => job at uni or in research => depends on EU funding => Remain
In other words the "stupid" people are most affected by the EU as they compete against Polish builders etc.
Please understand I'm not arguing for Brexit or Remain, but for more understanding between both groups of voters! I'm a foreign national and the most harmful bit in my opinion is the divisions created by it.
STEWIEG
18 Mar 17#120
Assuming the SNP and local councils weren't squandering it and it hadn't been deposited/invested with the Royal Bank of Scotland.
STEWIEG
18 Mar 171#121
The current deficit ensures we do not even get to join the queue as it is only going to get progressively worse under the wee deluded upstart who is happy to continually waste time and money with her government constantly "preparing" for another referendum. This will continue ad infinitum under her leadership as she strives for personal international recognition and screw everything else!
mtuk1
18 Mar 171#122
Subsidized by English taxpayers.
yozzas
18 Mar 17#123
the amount they spend on methadone prescriptions in glasgow must cost billions . And the rest is all the diazepam they eat like smarties .
red23
18 Mar 17#124
only because you support rangers, pathetic. Why let that cloud your judgement.
cburns
18 Mar 17#125
I can't wait for the full extent of global warming on the UK.... no south...gone washed away...
just the north and Nicola will remain...........apparently :laughing::laughing::laughing:
genk
18 Mar 17#126
I received £300 worth of fines. Since, I've signed up to this, I've saved loads.
Zontes
18 Mar 172#127
Our education system gave me the ability to construct a sentence using grammar and punctuation. Pity you missed out.
BenderRodriguez
18 Mar 171#128
If by "free" you mean that I pay for your prescriptions with my NI contributions, then yes. ;-)
TedStriker72
18 Mar 171#129
Although I agree with the flat charge irrespective of cost of drugs, I do remember a while back getting a prescription (I forget what it was) and the pharmacist went to a shelf in the shop, took a 28 pack that was marked £2.30, took the contents out, cut it in half and put it back in then charged me £7.50 or whatever the charge was then. Doctor had only prescribed 14 days worth. All ok of course, but rather annoying when the OTC cost is left on the pack!
thommo
18 Mar 172#130
Is this a deal?
I've had a card for years now.
The information about prescription charges and pre payment cards is clearly on display at my GPs for all to see.
Like someone said earlier,do the sums its a no brainer
sprite127594
18 Mar 17#131
stop the free prescriptions in wales, NI and scotland and that should sort the NHS out.
red23
18 Mar 17#132
Would rather have free prescriptions to be honest X)X):laughing:
TallerPaul
18 Mar 17#133
ESA contribution based isn't free as i found out only income related ESA is free persciptions/dentist etc
Although i don't think it's a deal that would benefit me i previously lived in Northern Ireland and yeap all my perscriptions were free.
Something not mentioned with HC2 (mostly designed for people in low incomes) is you have to fill out a HC1 first, i recently done this, it depends on your income i have none other than ESA contrib .... however something they don't mention if you have savings more than £600 your not eligable as you can afford your perscriptions, my recent very simple dental visit to get a crown fixed cost £52 + £8 for antibiotics
however in England i was shocked when i had a £8 odd charge for antibiotics even more so my doctor here printed off perscription slips seperatly and when i took them to asda pharamacy they told me its £8 odd per slip not if i hand them in all together and i should ask my doctor to put them all on the 1 slip however my doctor here will not do this as the surgery gets paid more on the indivual slips rather than bulked items on slips.
I do have to agree with the above comment my doctor has perscribed stuff then the pharamacy lifts off the shelf something which costs £2 takes half the tablets out and then charges the £8
mdekq007
18 Mar 17#134
...but you have to live in Northern Ireland
steford
18 Mar 171#135
That must require quite a few drugs every month I would imagine ;-)
Aaronnnn
18 Mar 17#136
As someone who has been on a lot of medications, I know how expensive it is. I have mentioned this to several pharmacists in the past and GPs. There was a time where I was given the same medication a few times which I had to pay for only for the medication not to do anything. A system needs to be put in place to alert the pharmacist that the patient has already received this medication in the past. In this way the consumer can save money.
Nettle_Warrior
18 Mar 17#137
Just don't complain about the state of the NHS if doing this. Bottom line is there is high demand on services and not enough money to pay for them.
noshin98
18 Mar 171#138
are you being serious
anewman
18 Mar 17#139
A Labour Government doing its best to mimic the Tories. If you want things to really change vote for Labour in 2020 and get a Democratic Socialist Government rather than the old slightly left of centre Labour, and the hard right Tories.
pauline1974
18 Mar 17#140
Don't spit the dummy :P
pauline1974
18 Mar 17#141
Yeah because there are no junkies in England right enough! :P
pauline1974
18 Mar 171#142
England would be stuffed without Scotland and all the money we give hence the reason most of England didn't want Scotland to become independent! We keep you! Now shut up and be grateful :smiley:
mthurston
18 Mar 171#143
Someone has to pay for the true cost of these drugs.
yozzas
18 Mar 17#144
Good for you .
red_steve
18 Mar 171#145
Do remind me how many Labour and Tory MPs Scotland returned to Wesminster?
seanjames
18 Mar 17#146
a good GP wouldn't put it on an £8 prescription
macobrum
18 Mar 17#147
where is the deal? it works almost a year.... COLD
jimbo23
18 Mar 171#148
If the UK cant survive as an independent nation then who the hell can? You joker.
Why don't you move to somewhere like Greece, Portugal, Spain etc where youth unemployment is at ~50% and adult unemployment is at a staggering 25%~. Unemployment here has been falling since the referendum to record levels.
Also, In case you haven't noticed, we are also part of the Commonwealth of nations which spams greater than any 'fortress EU'.
jimbo23
18 Mar 17#149
As mentioned before. We can't complain. This is pennies compared to what people pay in the US.
I had a conversation with one lady there and she had to pay around $19,000 just to give birth!
Haggisbasher
18 Mar 17#150
I will make a deal, give us back all our oil revenues for the last 50 years and we will agree to re-negotiating an already proven fair Barnett formula.
Being arsey aside, I do not know why prescriptions are not free in England either, its proven to save medical expenses as people who previously could not afford prescriptions, would get further unwell and eventually end up in Hospital, and we all know what is going on there.
Newbold
18 Mar 172#151
Simple answer - because English politicians only ever look forward as far as the next election. Long-term planning simply doesn't exist. It's all about keeping taxes as low as possible, and expenditure as low as possible in order to get re-elected - even though that means infrastructure such as roads is rapidly becoming so bad that it can never be repaired, and even though low tax inevitably costs us all far more than we save because we have to pay out for things that used to be free. Like prescriptions. And major suspension repairs to cars caused by collapsing roads and potholes.
gillygolly
18 Mar 17#152
We in Scotland don't pay for prescriptions. You can blame your Tory and labour MPs they voted against us all getting them
Firefly1
18 Mar 17#153
Specifically to your point about "£8 odd per slip":
The charge is now £8.60 per prescription item. No matter whether it is printed over 3 pieces of paper, or one piece of paper. Each individual line e.g. Trimethoprim 200mg Take Two A day for 7 Days, 14 Tablets ("Item") is £8.60. Another drug on the same piece of paper will be an additional £8.60.
On the other hand, which is maybe why you were getting mixed messages from the pharmacy - Stay with me, hopefully not too confusing :smile:
For example:
Levothyroxine comes in 50mg and 25mg tablets, and your GP may want you to 25mg one day, and 50mg the next day. There is a charge of £8.60 for One item (Take 50mg tablet once every 2 days) and a charge of £8.60 for another item (Take 25mg tablet once every 2 days).
This is because they are 2 seperate items on the prescription.
If you were prescribed "Take 75mg Levothyroxine every day" for example, you might still get a box of 50mg and 25mg - but the charge is only one £8.60, as the written prescription is for one item (75mg Levothyroxine) - although the pharmacy may dispense it in 50 and 25mg boxes.
---
So in summary, if you have multiple strengths of the same drug on a prescription and they are all prescribed at the various strengths specified by the GP, there is a charge for each strength. That's how the NHS charging system works, nought to do with the GP except that there are occassional workarounds - but usually it will involve writing something incorrect on the prescription which could get them into a massive amount of trouble (e.g. Writing levothyroxine 75mg once a day, when they only really want you to take 50mg one day and 25mg on a different day)
Haggisbasher
18 Mar 17#154
Yes but its this narrow minded thinking, from election to election. The NHS is on its knees, due to the number of people attending A&E and being admitted. Preemptive treatment would reduce this. On the other side, why go to Doctors for a prescription of a painkiller that is commonly available over the counter for 19p.
The.Cat
18 Mar 17#155
Alternatively people could just pay their way and stop being a drain on NHS resources.
SalfordCityRed
18 Mar 17#156
If Scotland had been independent since 1980, you'd have missed out on all those Public Sector jobs, the RBS bailout and the ability to blame everything on the English amongst other things.
A lot of the time it's the tail wagging the dog, you're way too over-represented in Parliament! If you have gripes with the UK Government, have a good long hard look at yourselves as you get more than your fair share of input!
seandpop
18 Mar 17#157
Free here
Leonintelex
18 Mar 17#158
Haha same here. I'm pushing for the republic of Warwick!
Leonintelex
18 Mar 17#159
Be careful, if you guys vote in favour of leaving the UK then you would be classed as "foreigners" in England!
Remember, 53.4% of England are terrified of foreign people.
TallerPaul
18 Mar 17#160
cheers thanks for clearing that up, well most of asdas pharamacy people are normal staff who serve you and then the pharamicist just sits in the back lol so yeah they've obviously ill advised me, i do remember once upon a time ago though when i lived in northern ireland there was a charge at once of like £2.80 per slip too, dam i can see how that can get quite expensive then, better start trying to get into better health what is it ... 10 fruit and veg now a day not 5 of each anymore lol.
but yeah that could get quite expensive ... luckily kinda for me my inhalor lasts about 2-3 months as i rarely need to use it, im perscribed extra strength 1000mg ibuprofen time to buy the 250mg off the shelf and just take 4 of them since their like 36p a pack lol and well my other tablets which i wont mention are perscribed every 2 months so just for my main tablets it's £51.60 per year which is still less than a dentist visit lol
BenderRodriguez
18 Mar 17#161
Ah yes, the Commonwealth. All those Australian and Indian car makers are already queuing to open their factories in Britain. Who needs the EU if we can export Tata cars to Mozambique!
And I can't wait for Uganda to replace Spain as the most popular stag party destination. :smile:
You are delusional.
Mulva42
18 Mar 17#162
cold already get prescriptions free.
pauline1974
18 Mar 171#163
We already class English people as Foreigners blond so when we leave you'll be classed just the same :smiley:
Zontes
18 Mar 171#164
Did anyone mention? Prescriptions are free in Scotland.:stuck_out_tongue: Get it up you ya knuckle dragging barstewards. Bring on the next referendum so we can be shot of you patronising sods, and yes, I'll be happy to contribute to my own economy, and not seek anymore freebies from our so generous friends from Engerland. Get real you eejits. Subsidised by you lot, I really don't think so. :confused:
Zontes
18 Mar 171#165
You did better this time. Well done.
Edit. Just noticed, full stop is in wrong position. Got to back of class and sit in naughty corner.
frakison
18 Mar 17#166
It's posts like yours, full of insult and ignorance which make me think that it would be a good thing for Scotland to just vote and go. However, the people of Scotland voted to stay in the UK, the people of the UK voted to leave the EU. It strikes me that Sturgeon and the other sore losers of the last two referendums (UK and EU) are trying to play the rest of the Scots for fools. She just sees this as her only chance of furthering her career and some seem to be falling for it.
The SNP member on Question Time this week looked like a complete plank when she was asked what currency they would use post UK exit, she was embarrassingly stumped!!! If they don't even have that sorted, why would you trust them to lead an Independent Scotland?.... well, independent until you re-join the EU when you can pass your power to Brussels, at least then you'll have someone else to moan to! :smiley:
Oh, and in response to your comment, nothing is EVER free. If England subsidises Scotland, we're paying for it, if Scotland subsidises England, YOU'RE paying for it, either way, its not and never will be "free", you're just not paying for it directly :wink:
frakison
18 Mar 171#167
When trying to belittle someone over their spelling and grammar, it's always best to recheck what YOU write or you end up looking like a pillock :smirk:
Zontes
18 Mar 17#168
You are quite correct. I am so full of free Methadone and Diazepam we get up here in Scotland.
Also, just back from the football match and the pub, full of Lager and Whisky, so I think I did quite well. At least I have an excuse.
Zontes
18 Mar 17#169
I'll be quite glad to leave you behind.
Zontes
18 Mar 17#170
I just get a bit scunnered when posters are so lazy. Why have we come to this level?
smk77
18 Mar 174#171
With all due respect, from an Englishman living in Scotland, you can't really complain about the Scots insulting the English. As soon as these types of 'deals' appear on here you have the English moaning about subsidising the Scots with little regard that unless they are living in London, they are probably being subsidised by Londoners and in particular the financial sector that the average little Englander loathes.
kenwebb1953
18 Mar 173#172
Fact: Revenue from oil went South.
Myth: England subsidises Scotland.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have the worst landlords imaginable. They've taken all the coal, iron and taxes on whisky, there is still some oil left, so they will keep a hold as long as possible.
At least our sick get their medication paid for.
frakison
18 Mar 17#173
To be fair though, one wrong doesn't justify another. The people doing the moaning about subsidising Scotland are probably of the same mentality as the Scots moaning about being repressed, its all a bit pathetic. I just don't see why its a problem, this island is too small for infighting and we should stand together, I certainly don't have issues with anyone from Scotland, I think we are stronger together, ALL of us, but I guess my view is perhaps a little simplistic?!?
I look at this way, Scotland CHOSE to remain in the UK, but no one from England got to say if THEY wanted Scotland to remain? Totally hypothetical, what if it was identified that 60% of England would have ejected Scotland? that would mean that millions of English voices have been ignored, but I don't see people pushing for a referendum on that?! On the other hand, Scots were offered the chance to leave, they chose to stay, and now they want to moan about not being able to have ANOTHER vote to leave?!?! :confused:
frakison
18 Mar 17#174
I totally get your point and agree wholeheartedly (their/ there, bought/ brought makes me shudder!!) but this isn't school and people type on phones etc. so mistakes will happen. What I was saying is that its not wise to choose to highlight your distain by posting a lazy unchecked and incorrect comment? :confused:
frakison
18 Mar 17#175
I hope for your sake and the sake of your children that you're right...... mainly because I'm not xenophobic and don't hold grudges or choose whether to get on with people based on where they happened to be born :wink:
smk77
18 Mar 17#176
Your view on your first paragraph isn't simplistic. Some Scots need to understand that Scotland is significantly weaker outside the UK. Going alone may significantly impact a generation just like the UK leaving the EU. Some English need to understand that Scotland has made a significant contribution to the UK over the years. They also need to understand that do to it geographics, countries with large areas that are sparsely populated cost more to provided public services.
As for the English ejecting Scotland, that's just ridiculous to suggest that any country should get opportunity to make a specific decision to determine the destiny of another country.
sicklysweet
18 Mar 17#177
Whilst I completely agree with you, levothyroxine is a bad example as if you're on levothyroxine you're automatically exempt from prescription charges.
frakison
19 Mar 17#178
My comment was obviously only meant to be illustrative. Interestingly though, what you say is ridiculous is EXACTLY what Scotland want to do is it not? i.e. I don't want Scotland to leave the UK, I think that the rest of the UK will be severely affected and it will affect our destiny..... so yes, I agree with you and this surely adds weight to the fact that we should stand together on this? Unless we're saying that choices are only ridiculous when they don't work towards giving us what WE want?
smk77
19 Mar 171#179
I included the word specific as there is a difference between what what is happening and the English 'ejecting' Scotland. Should the people of Scotland decide to leave the UK then the decision will be based on wanting to run Scotland from Edinburgh rather than successive Tory governments that the vast majority never voted for. The impact on the rest of the UK is indirect and probably not hugely damaging - certainly less damaging than the potential Brexit has. Should the English decide to 'eject' Scotland then that's directly impacting Scotland and extremely damaging.
Let's hope indyref2 never happens. It doesn't help anyone just like Brexit.
If I lived in England and Scotland voted to leave the UK then I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. As I live is Scotland, If the English were allowed to directly decide and determine my future then I would be having nightmares!
yozzas
19 Mar 17#180
there is but glasgow has more
yozzas
19 Mar 17#181
:man: go to .
liamf12
19 Mar 17#182
I like the way pregnant women get free prescriptions but remember how my dad had to pay prescription charges for his heart medication, they said there was no proof it was keeping him alive. They reduced his medication 3 times when they said he would leave the hospital the next day, each time he had another heart attack. Often wondered if he forgot to take his tablets and died if he would get a refund.
frakison
19 Mar 17#183
I see your point but I still disagree, Scotland leaving the UK will impact on the remaining countries so I WILL be directly affected by it. I agree that Scotland are being controlled by a Conservative government that they have not voted for..... so am I, along with millions of other English people.
I feel that at the moment, Scotland wants to have its cake and eat it. Sturgeon has said that they want to see what comes of the Brexit deal and then decide if they want to stay in the UK. I have issues with this, the16m English who voted to remain don't have this option. Similarly, a third of the Scotish brexit voters will also be ignored. I guess my point is that we voted as one, we should stay as one?
frakison
19 Mar 17#184
I guess it's to protect the welfare of the unborn child?? It's not right, but there has to be a cut off somewhere, the problem is that unfortunately that "somewhere" is rarely assigned correctly.
smk77
19 Mar 173#185
Any country should have the right to determine their own future. Its fate should not be decided by another. I dont think you can compare the consequences of Scotland leaving the UK on rUK to those if the English ejected Scotland.
Scotland wants to stay in the UK and in the EU. We have had 2 referendums confirming this. Scotland wants a deal that suits the majority. That's not cake and eating it.
frakison
19 Mar 17#186
Smk77, thread too long, had to start afresh :stuck_out_tongue:
This is the point im struggling with, if Scotland leaves the UK, it WILL affect another country. I also personally think that what Sturgeon is doing will affect the Brexit negotiation process because the EU can see that we are divided on this and this will obviously affect any offer they make. At the end of the process, Scotland can then either say, hey that's a good deal, we'll have some of that, OR **** off and leave the rest of us to suffer the consequences of actions which were backed by over a third of Scottish voters. By your words, our fate is therefore being affected if not decided by another?
The main point is that the majority of Scotland voted to stay in the UK, the majority of the UK decided to leave the EU. If you then start splitting down the result to "suit the majority", surely we should split the UK by regions to allow each voting region to decide if they want independance as there were some areas where remain convincingly won the vote? The Scottish position to stay but only when it suits is definitely akin to having your cake and eating it.
tonypop
19 Mar 17#187
Im confused how a country that had no tax raising or bowwing powers could run up a deficit,that simply isnt plausable.
tonypop
19 Mar 17#188
From you ramblings you could have fooled me. The attacks on Sturgeon are lazy at best. Snp also has english,french and asian politicians so save the race card
frakison
19 Mar 17#189
Lazy? the only thing lazy is your pathetic trolling attempt. I don't like Sturgeon, I think she is in it for herself, but its nothing to do with her being Scottish you fool! I think its more the case that you are xenophobic and racist, but can you please park that at the door or preferably just shut up and move on to a forum where your racists view on life is appreciated, there's a good little troll :wink:
Zontes
19 Mar 17#190
Just woke up and you are so correct, and I was so pished last night. Sorry!
Save yourself money, make the NHS pay
. Stuff like this, and getting "free" calpol etc is contributing to the situation
frakison
20 Mar 17#193
Excessive pay to over-inflated management structures is probably costing a lot more than this ever will! :wink:
SpectreFace
20 Mar 17#194
The lady asking us to have another referendum has no mandate. She's the leader of a party with a minority of seats in the Scottish parliament and they were not elected on a promise of holding another referendum, in fact the quote from Nicola at the time was "A vote for the SNP is not a vote for Independence, it's not even a vote to hold another referendum" add this to "Once in a generation" and realise that Nic knows she's not going to get the approval for a referendum but is using it to do one of two things, have a louder voice at any Brexit negotiations or to play further on the gullible masses about "Westmonster" not letting the people of Scotland have their say (We had our say and we said No Thanks)
Robbo11
21 Mar 17#195
Yep, blooming unfair when you have to wait until you reach 60 years of age in England bar the exceptions listed in the Ops post. Unrelated, but another example are free bus passes for the over 60's in those countries whereas in England you have to wait until the age of 66. Then again, as the Scottish people have had to put up with the weak economic, education and public services record of the SNP over the last few years, perhaps they deserve a few perks. On the other hand, they did vote them in again with a huge majority so maybe they don't. :smirk:
Cristiano
21 Mar 17#196
Don't even get into the amount of unused medication that people hourd away never using - probably because it was free and they are entitled to it.
I know people attend their GP practices with a head ache and ask the GP write a prescription for paracetamol. The consultation cost probably £50 and the prescription £8.40 or so and all because someone had a headache. Same issue replicated across the country and abused in similar scenarios in every a&e department - except the costs increase severely. This is why when u need to be seen at the dr or in hospital you have to wait -the entitled timewasting selfish folk we share our world with. Bleeding the country dry
yozzas
21 Mar 17#197
hahaha .
alg
21 Mar 17#198
I have issues with the bus pass thing - many families with children are struggling financially, and don't get subsidies for getting to work etc, while the over 60's get free bus travel. Given that many (not all) of them will no longer have financial dependents, will have cleared their mortgage, etc., and have more disposable income, I struggle when I see them using their bus passes to get to work in the morning. Personally, I would add an extra clause to the provision of bus passes to no longer in paid work.
As for the SNP being voted in by a huge majority, and remembering that it is a proportional representative vote, if it's a huge majority, why are they a minority government?
dealer101
21 Mar 17#199
Thank for raising awareness!
Robbo11
21 Mar 17#200
I don't have an issue with free bus passes for the elderly. It is a concession that everyone is entitled to eventually anyway and my only issue is the unfairness of the 6 year age difference between qualifying for one in England (ignoring London as an exception to the rule) compared to NI, Wales and Scotland.
Independent studies have also shown that free bus passes are actually sustainable and beneficial to the UK economy. Estimates are that it would cost the UK £1.7 billion to scrap this particular concession because for every £1 spent on free bus passes, apparently it actually generates nearly £3 of benefits to the economy.
Robbo11
21 Mar 17#201
You must either live in London, NI, Wales or Scotland if you are travelling to work in the morning with people using free bus passes because everywhere else in England, they cannot be used before 9.30am on weekdays. Personally, I don't have an issue with free bus passes for the elderly. It is a concession that everyone is entitled to eventually anyway and my only issue is the unfairness of the 6 year age difference between qualifying for one in England (ignoring London as an exception to the rule) compared to NI, Wales and Scotland.
Independent studies have also shown that free bus passes are actually sustainable and beneficial to the UK economy. Estimates are that it would cost the UK £1.7 billion to scrap this particular concession because for every £1 spent on free bus passes, apparently it actually generates nearly £3 of benefits to the economy. because in the rest of England most people are retired by the age of 66,
![NHS prescription charges go upto £8.60 each 1 April. Get a prepayment certificate & potentially save HUNDREDS! [cost: £104 for a full year, £29 for 3 months, or 10 monthly Direct Debit payments of £10.40] (SAVE as much as £300+ pa)](/images/topics/155451_1.jpg)
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Opening post
The 12 month PPC costs just £104, and the 3 month one costs £29.10. And the 12 month PPC will cost just £10.40 a month (for 10 months only) with a direct debit.
IF YOU'RE BUYING JUST 2 ITEMS A MONTH THIS WILL SAVE YOU MONEY - £102.40 A YEAR WITH 2 ITEMS A MONTH, AND ANOTHER £103.20 FOR EACH ADDITIONAL MONTHLY PRESCRIPTION.
OVER £300 A YEAR SAVED ON 4 PRESCRIPTIONS A MONTH
Two additional things to remember, though:
1 Certain medical conditions will give you a completely free medical exemption certificate (see below*)
and
2 You can claim back previous prescription costs for up to 3 months after buying the PPC so long as you ask the chemist for and retain the receipt forms FP57.
If you have to pay for prescriptions while you are waiting for a new PPC and need to apply for a refund, ask the pharmacist for a refund and receipt form (FP57) in order to claim back the costs. You can claim for the refund of prescription charges up to three months after paying. The refund and receipt form (FP57) explains what to do.
___________________________________________________________
*People with certain medical conditions can get free NHS prescriptions if:
they have one of the conditions listed below, and they hold a valid medical exemption certificate.
Medical exemption certificates are issued on application to people who have:
a permanent fistula (for example caecostomy, colostomy, laryngostomy or ileostomy) requiring continuous surgical dressing or requiring an appliance
a form of hypoadrenalism (for example Addison's disease) for which specific substitution therapy is essential
diabetes insipidus or other forms of hypopituitarism
diabetes mellitus, except where treatment is by diet alone
hypoparathyroidism
myasthenia gravis myxoedema (that is, hypothyroidism requiring thyroid hormone replacement)
epilepsy requiring continuous anticonvulsive therapy
a continuing physical disability which means the person cannot go out without the help of another person. Temporary disabilities do not count even if they last for several months
Or are undergoing treatment for cancer: including the effects of cancer, or
the effects of current or previous cancer treatment
___________________________________________________________
You can get free NHS prescriptions if, at the time the prescription is dispensed, you:
are 60 or over
are under 16
are 16-18 and in full-time education
are pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months and have a valid maternity exemption certificate (MatEx)
have a specified medical condition and have a valid medical exemption certificate (MedEx)
have a continuing physical disability that prevents you from going out without help from another person and have a valid MedEx
hold a valid war pension exemption certificate and the prescription is for your accepted disability
are an NHS inpatient
You are also entitled to free prescriptions if you or your partner – including civil partner – receive, or you're under the age of 20 and the dependant of someone receiving:
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or
Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
Universal Credit and meet the criteria
If you're entitled to or named on:
a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate – if you don't have a certificate, you can show your award notice; you qualify if you get Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits with a disability element (or both) and have income for tax credit purposes of £15,276 or less
a valid NHS certificate for full help with health costs (HC2)
Top comments
:neutral_face:
If Scotland had been independent lets say since 1980 it would currently have a substantial surplus, even after the last two extremely bad years for oil revenue.The Scottish Exchequer would have zero debt and tens of billions of pounds in the bank to protect it from a sustained oil downturn, even if it had exactly matched reckless and wasteful UK government spending over the entire period.
The rUK, not Scotland, has been the recipient of cross-border subsidies over the past 40 years or so. Prof. Ashcroft calculates that even factoring in considerably higher levels of public spending, Scotland has only had £95 back for every £100 it sent to Westminster.
All comments (201)
:neutral_face:
9*8.60 *12
928.8
Tho I think I could get the exemption card from one of my ailments but never bothered looking, just been using the PPC for a couple years.
And yes, the fact only England pays annoys me greatly. Same with Scottish education, we pay the same tax rates.
Bring on the next independence vote - I and 80% of English folk would vote for it (sadly we don't get a vote :disappointed: )
10 every 3rd month.
If not for my exemption card I would be broke.
If Scotland had been independent lets say since 1980 it would currently have a substantial surplus, even after the last two extremely bad years for oil revenue.The Scottish Exchequer would have zero debt and tens of billions of pounds in the bank to protect it from a sustained oil downturn, even if it had exactly matched reckless and wasteful UK government spending over the entire period.
The rUK, not Scotland, has been the recipient of cross-border subsidies over the past 40 years or so. Prof. Ashcroft calculates that even factoring in considerably higher levels of public spending, Scotland has only had £95 back for every £100 it sent to Westminster.
It's the same price as 1 prescription charge per month.
Sometimes I have 5 in the same month so it's a no brainer.
and a lot sooner than you think :wink:
If you're taking something like "Soluble Aspirin" don't bother getting it on prescription and paying £8.60 or whatever it is. Soluble Aspirin is an Over the Counter (OTC) medicine that doesn't need a prescription and costs about £1 for 100 tabs - 75 mg. That's over 3 months supply for most people so save yourself some money.
It's worth asking your pharmacist whether any of the medicines that you have been prescribed are available OTC and if they are then pay for them separately if they cost less than £8.60.
Saved myself a few quid years ago when I was taking Sol Asp.
Good luck!
a) Fact: We have to leave the EU and therefore re-apply
b) My road deficit - and the North of the U.K. (Scotland) has too large a deficit to re-join the EU
c) The area to the South (England/Wales) would never let an independent country keep the pound - because it's independent and the currency (via the Bank of England) would not be interested in Scotland as it would have independece - you can't have an independent country that has no influence over its currency.
d) Good luck with the Euro :smile::smile::smile:
I'm quite happy with my current financial circumstances and paying £8 here and there.
no wonder they don't give you appointments !
As for Tories wrecking everything in their underfunded budget, you forget there's a £10billion black hole! No amount of good will is going to fill that...
Unlimited EU migration will always be > than the NHS budget...
So next time you complain about paying £8 think about all the staff being extremely little with no real chance of pay rise for the amazing work they do!
We're leaving the EU whatever happens. It wasn't my choice. However, Scotland has a better chance with trade deals negotiated by the UK than going it alone. It makes absolutely no economic sense to leave the UK. The only reason to leave is the argument over not been run by Westminster which was clearly rejected in 2014 by a big majority and there is no evidence to suggest that public opinion has changed. There is NO need for a re-run regardless of what's in the SNPs manifesto.
Maybe the overriding calculation is that an independent Scotland would need so much aid in the future - An appeal we could not refuse ?Our already strained foreign aid budget could not run to funding another failed state .
I would not mourn the departure of the Scots from the Union , but it would become just another failed nation to bail out in a year or two . And remember the present government will always be opposed to Scottish Independence - for those who are struggling with it - there is a clue in the full name . The Conservative and Unionist Party .
I mean I would of paid thousands upon thousands by now
Just fill the exempt on the back no one ever checks hahaha
They'll be coming for you at some point, with a claim for all the money cheated, along with penalties. :smile:
I for one are hoping for a YES vote in #indyref2 and the jocks vote to leave. All we can hope for is a good border control with a &€ 20 entrance border fee and most importantly, they use the Euro as the £ will not be an option. Just sort the nuclear flask issue and goodbye and good riddance
I am 63 and never been caught hehehe.
I've fecking paid enough in NI that's why they don't check me!
It's true that loads of meds cost very little, much less than the fee, but as they are Prescription Only, you can only get them by paying the charge, and this does help to balance out the instances where people have a prescription for a very expensive medicine, but they still pay the same fee. I think that's fair enough for Prescription Only meds, but a GP or Pharmacist advising that a product can be bought more cheaply than paying for a prescription charge is no bad thing, and can potentially save the NHS money as it's one less dispensing fee to pay the pharmacist, plus the costs of processing pharmacist's claims for dispensed prescriptions.
I found out my Vitamin D levels were dangerously low. GP was about to print prescription off. I asked what strength I needed and how long I needed to take it for. He told me, and I said "Don't worry about the script then, I know I can buy that strength and amount for less than the prescription charge". He seemed delighted that someone had actually asked the question, and said they'd buy it themselves. He's probably used to dealing with a lot of people who demand a prescription because they don't feel they've received the "proper treatment' unless they walk back out through the waiting room, brandishing a prescription as if to make a point of "See, I have prescription, I *am* ill!" But I digress. Fact is that if a GP doesn't know a tube of cream can be bought in a pharmacy for less than the prescription charge, and the pharmacy advises you can buy it instead, there's nothing wrong with that. It's always worth asking in the pharmacy if your prescription can be bought for less than the charge. Often it depends on pack size though. Doc may have prescribed a huge tube of cream, but it could be available to buy in a smaller size. The pharmacist or dispenser should be able to tell you which way works out cheaper, so it may still be better value to pay the charge for a larger tube of cream on prescription than it would be to buy a smaller tube of the same stuff. My first job was in a pharmacy and not only did we advise if something could be bought for less than the fee, we often advised people of cheaper generic meds available, e.g. Ibuprofen rather than Nurofen. Some decided to go with the much cheaper generic, others just had faith in the main brand, so still went for it at 2 or 3 times the price of the generic. Their choice at the end of the day, but we gained the trust and respect of customers as it showed them we were offering cheaper alternatives, whereas we'd probably make more money for just selling them the Nurofen requested. We felt that how we operated created trust and a good relationship with our customers, and they were more likely to come back to us again for repeat business, whatever product they were after.
All you need to know is Labour were quite good actually, the Tories on the other hand are bankrupting us.
They won't be rejoining the EU anytime soon, no matter what Sturgeon says, due to the budget deficit not meeting EU requirements. That's presuming Spain wouldn't veto their entry, which is certainly possible.
Scotland could join the EFTA and EEA giving them access to the single market. This will surely be better than any Brexit negotiations.
Even if Scotland met the requirements to re-join Spain wouldn't have the reason to Veto like they would have done in 2014 given the UK will have left the EU. Possible but unlikely.
All that has come from your government since the day after the Brexit vote is comments sticking the knife in and Salmond's puppet Sturgeon. Scottish this Scottish that, what about British this and that, all I hear is talk about great Scotland's contribution is and nothing positive about the British Union, do people really think Scotland will come out rosy in this ? You are as much in the dark about how Scotland will cope on it's own as WE all are on Brexit.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jul/07/london-top-taxpaying-city-uk-report
London contributes way more into the economy than every other region of the UK yet spending is only marginally higher. In fact, the further north you go, the more is spent per head.
Have a look at some of the anti Scotland posts here before making accusations of Scotland looking out for Scotland.
May I remind you that in 2014 the majority voted to remain part of the UK. I know very few people up here who voted to leave.
I agree with you that we have more to offer as a union as did the majority in 2014.
400,000 of us (me included) call ourselves English AND British.
As for the Scottish attitude, please don't conclude that everyone north of the border is a follower of wee jimmy krankie and her nasty party.
Can't do better than access to the single market? Scotland leaving the UK doesn't automatically get them access to the single market either.
What it does mean though is that can negotiate our own trade deals with the rest of the world on our terms - and make our own decisions without having to spend months persuading the rest of the EU to have one country veto it at the end, look - I'm not just reciting propaganda here, I voted to stay and believe we should, but we're leaving, and there are positives to be had, Scotland along with us will make our negotiating position stronger for both countries, but no one wants to acknowledge that. I know my previous comment was combative, too many morons annoy me.
A private prescription for a 7 day course of antibiotics (co-amoxiclav) only cost £2.29 on private prescription, and that's including the pharmacy's dispensing fee.
I was expecting it to cost £20-ish, not less than the cost of an NHS prescription.
The cheaper meds subsidise the more expensive ones, but I didn't realise antibiotics were so cheap. Cheaper than a 2 day box of sudafed (£5!).
I have medical exemption but when I moved house I didn't specifically inform the prescription card department as the NHS were informed of my change of address and I (wrongly) assumed that as part of the NHS it would all be linked.
Last year I received a letter informing me of a fine of around £250 for apparently incorrectly claiming medical exemption on my prescription forms!
Thankfully I just phoned them with my medical exemption number, updated my details & the fine was wiped off my account.
When I applied for a renewal of the medical exemption card about 6 months ago, first they sent me a card with a random man's name on, then they sent another with me as a Mr, and then another with the wrong first letter of my surname and eventually they got it right. Each time I had to contact them and then send the wrong one back, which was a pain. They were pretty inept.
Its a tough one that .....
7.1 billion to renovate House of Commons. There will be more space if the Scottish MP's aren't there so you should be able to save some of that.
That is all.:wink:
For example: http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/07/if-you-voted-for-brexit-youre-not-going-to-like-this-6433145/
Didn't account for my doctor prescribing a months course of antibiotics when infection number 7 occurred 2 days later. When you think you have all bases covered....
I believe something like only 1 in 4 people pay anyway , normally us mugs with jobs . The whole system is crazy !
I've been in a queue in the chemists where people are asking if they can just have particular items from their script as they can't afford all of them .
I'll be 60 this years so won't have to pay , even if I had to but I a still have a decent job and could afford to .
I bet you think once article 50 happens we've automatically left eu too. Not the way it works and it's effects won't be seen until probably 2 years later (which coincides with when sturgeon wanted to hold the second referendum for a reason :stuck_out_tongue: )
So if you have an "OTC" prescription, sure, get it for £8. But you don't do the NHS any good if you go to the GP for every OTC drug you want.
Meanwhile
In englandshire your government wants to spend 7 times what it cost to build the burj khalifa to refurb Westminster. Thats right 7 billion. (will probably double)
Good luck englandshire without scotlands oil reserves you are going to need it.
highly intelligent => earns lots of money (possibly because of the EU) => doesn't want anything to change => Remain
Or this: Cambridge => job at uni or in research => depends on EU funding => Remain
In other words the "stupid" people are most affected by the EU as they compete against Polish builders etc.
Please understand I'm not arguing for Brexit or Remain, but for more understanding between both groups of voters! I'm a foreign national and the most harmful bit in my opinion is the divisions created by it.
just the north and Nicola will remain...........apparently :laughing::laughing::laughing:
I've had a card for years now.
The information about prescription charges and pre payment cards is clearly on display at my GPs for all to see.
Like someone said earlier,do the sums its a no brainer
Although i don't think it's a deal that would benefit me i previously lived in Northern Ireland and yeap all my perscriptions were free.
Something not mentioned with HC2 (mostly designed for people in low incomes) is you have to fill out a HC1 first, i recently done this, it depends on your income i have none other than ESA contrib .... however something they don't mention if you have savings more than £600 your not eligable as you can afford your perscriptions, my recent very simple dental visit to get a crown fixed cost £52 + £8 for antibiotics
however in England i was shocked when i had a £8 odd charge for antibiotics even more so my doctor here printed off perscription slips seperatly and when i took them to asda pharamacy they told me its £8 odd per slip not if i hand them in all together and i should ask my doctor to put them all on the 1 slip however my doctor here will not do this as the surgery gets paid more on the indivual slips rather than bulked items on slips.
I do have to agree with the above comment my doctor has perscribed stuff then the pharamacy lifts off the shelf something which costs £2 takes half the tablets out and then charges the £8
Why don't you move to somewhere like Greece, Portugal, Spain etc where youth unemployment is at ~50% and adult unemployment is at a staggering 25%~. Unemployment here has been falling since the referendum to record levels.
Also, In case you haven't noticed, we are also part of the Commonwealth of nations which spams greater than any 'fortress EU'.
I had a conversation with one lady there and she had to pay around $19,000 just to give birth!
Being arsey aside, I do not know why prescriptions are not free in England either, its proven to save medical expenses as people who previously could not afford prescriptions, would get further unwell and eventually end up in Hospital, and we all know what is going on there.
The charge is now £8.60 per prescription item. No matter whether it is printed over 3 pieces of paper, or one piece of paper. Each individual line e.g. Trimethoprim 200mg Take Two A day for 7 Days, 14 Tablets ("Item") is £8.60. Another drug on the same piece of paper will be an additional £8.60.
On the other hand, which is maybe why you were getting mixed messages from the pharmacy - Stay with me, hopefully not too confusing :smile:
For example:
Levothyroxine comes in 50mg and 25mg tablets, and your GP may want you to 25mg one day, and 50mg the next day. There is a charge of £8.60 for One item (Take 50mg tablet once every 2 days) and a charge of £8.60 for another item (Take 25mg tablet once every 2 days).
This is because they are 2 seperate items on the prescription.
If you were prescribed "Take 75mg Levothyroxine every day" for example, you might still get a box of 50mg and 25mg - but the charge is only one £8.60, as the written prescription is for one item (75mg Levothyroxine) - although the pharmacy may dispense it in 50 and 25mg boxes.
---
So in summary, if you have multiple strengths of the same drug on a prescription and they are all prescribed at the various strengths specified by the GP, there is a charge for each strength. That's how the NHS charging system works, nought to do with the GP except that there are occassional workarounds - but usually it will involve writing something incorrect on the prescription which could get them into a massive amount of trouble (e.g. Writing levothyroxine 75mg once a day, when they only really want you to take 50mg one day and 25mg on a different day)
A lot of the time it's the tail wagging the dog, you're way too over-represented in Parliament! If you have gripes with the UK Government, have a good long hard look at yourselves as you get more than your fair share of input!
Remember, 53.4% of England are terrified of foreign people.
but yeah that could get quite expensive ... luckily kinda for me my inhalor lasts about 2-3 months as i rarely need to use it, im perscribed extra strength 1000mg ibuprofen time to buy the 250mg off the shelf and just take 4 of them since their like 36p a pack lol and well my other tablets which i wont mention are perscribed every 2 months so just for my main tablets it's £51.60 per year which is still less than a dentist visit lol
And I can't wait for Uganda to replace Spain as the most popular stag party destination. :smile:
You are delusional.
Edit. Just noticed, full stop is in wrong position. Got to back of class and sit in naughty corner.
The SNP member on Question Time this week looked like a complete plank when she was asked what currency they would use post UK exit, she was embarrassingly stumped!!! If they don't even have that sorted, why would you trust them to lead an Independent Scotland?.... well, independent until you re-join the EU when you can pass your power to Brussels, at least then you'll have someone else to moan to! :smiley:
Oh, and in response to your comment, nothing is EVER free. If England subsidises Scotland, we're paying for it, if Scotland subsidises England, YOU'RE paying for it, either way, its not and never will be "free", you're just not paying for it directly :wink:
Also, just back from the football match and the pub, full of Lager and Whisky, so I think I did quite well. At least I have an excuse.
Myth: England subsidises Scotland.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have the worst landlords imaginable. They've taken all the coal, iron and taxes on whisky, there is still some oil left, so they will keep a hold as long as possible.
At least our sick get their medication paid for.
I look at this way, Scotland CHOSE to remain in the UK, but no one from England got to say if THEY wanted Scotland to remain? Totally hypothetical, what if it was identified that 60% of England would have ejected Scotland? that would mean that millions of English voices have been ignored, but I don't see people pushing for a referendum on that?! On the other hand, Scots were offered the chance to leave, they chose to stay, and now they want to moan about not being able to have ANOTHER vote to leave?!?! :confused:
Your view on your first paragraph isn't simplistic. Some Scots need to understand that Scotland is significantly weaker outside the UK. Going alone may significantly impact a generation just like the UK leaving the EU. Some English need to understand that Scotland has made a significant contribution to the UK over the years. They also need to understand that do to it geographics, countries with large areas that are sparsely populated cost more to provided public services.
As for the English ejecting Scotland, that's just ridiculous to suggest that any country should get opportunity to make a specific decision to determine the destiny of another country.
Let's hope indyref2 never happens. It doesn't help anyone just like Brexit.
If I lived in England and Scotland voted to leave the UK then I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. As I live is Scotland, If the English were allowed to directly decide and determine my future then I would be having nightmares!
I feel that at the moment, Scotland wants to have its cake and eat it. Sturgeon has said that they want to see what comes of the Brexit deal and then decide if they want to stay in the UK. I have issues with this, the16m English who voted to remain don't have this option. Similarly, a third of the Scotish brexit voters will also be ignored. I guess my point is that we voted as one, we should stay as one?
Scotland wants to stay in the UK and in the EU. We have had 2 referendums confirming this. Scotland wants a deal that suits the majority. That's not cake and eating it.
This is the point im struggling with, if Scotland leaves the UK, it WILL affect another country. I also personally think that what Sturgeon is doing will affect the Brexit negotiation process because the EU can see that we are divided on this and this will obviously affect any offer they make. At the end of the process, Scotland can then either say, hey that's a good deal, we'll have some of that, OR **** off and leave the rest of us to suffer the consequences of actions which were backed by over a third of Scottish voters. By your words, our fate is therefore being affected if not decided by another?
The main point is that the majority of Scotland voted to stay in the UK, the majority of the UK decided to leave the EU. If you then start splitting down the result to "suit the majority", surely we should split the UK by regions to allow each voting region to decide if they want independance as there were some areas where remain convincingly won the vote? The Scottish position to stay but only when it suits is definitely akin to having your cake and eating it.
We are all Jock Tamson's Bairns
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jock_Tamson%27s_Bairns
. Stuff like this, and getting "free" calpol etc is contributing to the situation
I know people attend their GP practices with a head ache and ask the GP write a prescription for paracetamol. The consultation cost probably £50 and the prescription £8.40 or so and all because someone had a headache. Same issue replicated across the country and abused in similar scenarios in every a&e department - except the costs increase severely. This is why when u need to be seen at the dr or in hospital you have to wait -the entitled timewasting selfish folk we share our world with. Bleeding the country dry
As for the SNP being voted in by a huge majority, and remembering that it is a proportional representative vote, if it's a huge majority, why are they a minority government?
Independent studies have also shown that free bus passes are actually sustainable and beneficial to the UK economy. Estimates are that it would cost the UK £1.7 billion to scrap this particular concession because for every £1 spent on free bus passes, apparently it actually generates nearly £3 of benefits to the economy.
Independent studies have also shown that free bus passes are actually sustainable and beneficial to the UK economy. Estimates are that it would cost the UK £1.7 billion to scrap this particular concession because for every £1 spent on free bus passes, apparently it actually generates nearly £3 of benefits to the economy. because in the rest of England most people are retired by the age of 66,