Government must act now on prescription charges - Howarth (Cambridge Liberal Democrats)

Cambridge Liberal Democrats <camlibdems@gmail.com>

Government must act now on prescription charges - Howarth

September 7, 2009 12:03 PM

A campaign to scrap prescription charges for people suffering from long-term conditions has won the support of Cambridge MP David Howarth.

Mr Howarth has backed the Prescription Promise campaign by signing a Commons' motion calling on the government to end the charge before the next election.

The campaign is run by a coalition of 20 organisations representing people with long-term conditions.

The Prime Minister promised at the Labour Party Conference last September to abolish prescription charges for people living with long-term conditions and is currently reviewing the issue. Now, one year on, 162 MPs have backed the campaign and 1,450 members of the public in England have also signed a petition in support.

Mr Howarth said: "Large numbers of people with long-term conditions are struggling to afford their prescription charges and many are making a difficult and distressing choice not to take vital medication because of the cost.

"This situation can not be allowed to continue. The government must act now to end this unfair charge."

Members of the public who would like to support the Prescription Promise campaign can do so by visiting the website www.prescriptionpromise.org