[Pyramid*]

Originally Posted by Zippy

Well over 90% of prescriptions in England are for free anyways with all the different exemptions so not many actually pay anything.

But on principal it stinks. The Scottish and Welsh can afford to be generous only because they have Westminster backing them up.

Anything to actually back up what you've said about the Scots/Welsh have Westminister backing them up. I'd be interested to see where you obtain your information from.


90% of English receive free prescriptions - which if reports are true - it's affecting a mere 10% of their 50+ million populaton (Still unfair though)- that's still a hell of a lot less than the population of Scotland which is around 5million. - but take into account the amount of people on benefits of that 50+ milliionEnglish population - and that should tell you where a lot of the English money goes to.
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Here's some facts and figures for you:-

The most recent Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures demonstrate that Scottish public finances ran current budget surpluses in each of the three years to 2007- 08, totaling £2.3 Billion. In comparison the UK ran a budget deficit in each of those years totaling-£24 Billion. Balance on current budget - £ billions

2005-06

2006-07
2007-08
Totals

Scotland

1

1.1
0.2
2.3

UK

-13.9

-5
-5.1
-24

A report by accountancy firm Grant Thornton shows that if an Independent Scotland received only 82.5% of North Sea Oil and Gas revenues (without out the 6,000 sq miles of Scottish waters, London made English in 1999) Scotland would have a budget surplus of £4.4 billion, with 95% of revenues (with Scotland's marine boundaries restored) this would increase to £6.2 billion. It is abundantly clear that Westminster’s financial black hole is being filled with Scotland’s black, black oil.

Scottish Oil is worth £22,831 a minute, £32 million a day, £12 billion a year