Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications to the NHS Low Income Scheme were granted in each year from 2008 to 2016; and how many apprentices are currently on the NHS Low Income Scheme.
David Mowat
The table below shows the number of applications to the NHS Low Income Scheme, and the certificates which were granted, in each year from 2008 to 2016:
Year |
HC1s Received |
HC2s Issued |
HC3s Issued |
2007/08 |
422,652 |
240,288 |
140,501 |
2008/09 |
445,608 |
252,037 |
148,018 |
2009/10 |
431,129 |
243,350 |
142,135 |
2010/11 |
433,075 |
249,193 |
139,375 |
2011/12 |
422,591 |
246,808 |
134,276 |
2012/13 |
399,375 |
229,618 |
122,580 |
2013/14 |
389,324 |
225,275 |
120,391 |
2014/15 |
385,131 |
214,975 |
113,964 |
2015/16 |
383,487 |
225,239 |
112,414 |
A HC2 certificate entitles the person (and their family) to full remission of the charge, whereas a HC3 certificate provides partial remission and indicates how much of the charge the person must pay.
Figures for apprentices who hold NHS Low Income Scheme certificates are not available, as information on who is an apprentice is not collected.
The overall cost to administer the NHS Low Income Scheme in the last three financial years are set out below. These figures represent the direct costs of the NHS Low Income Scheme service in England, Scotland and Wales. The figures do not include overheads associated with the wider infrastructure of the NHS Business Services Authority:
Year |
Cost (£) |
2015/16 |
1,469,034 |
2014/15 |
1,566,587 |
2013/14 |
1,594,957 |