Thank you for your request for information about the following:

‘I would like to know how many Penalty Charge Notices have been handed out in the past year (up until today; 25/09/2022) after patients have not provided evidence of their Maternity Exemption (Matex) certificate. Can you also provide the same figures for the previous year? How many have resulted in the PCN fine being rescinded (due to evidence of pregnancy)? And how many of these rescinded fines still requested the original prescription fine to be paid? How many complaints have you had about these PCNs in the past year? Thanks

On 26 September 2022 you clarified your request as follows:

Yes, the number issued to people who ticked maternity (however, I’m led to believe it’s not as simple as that - sometimes the chemist just asks, do they also tick it?)

Regarding the fine - I meant, I was under the impression that the initial communication with a patient who didn’t provide evidence of pregnancy was to ask for it to be paid. It actually might be helpful to get the number of these handed out please - although I wouldn’t know what to call this? I probably called this a PCN in the request when it isn’t.

If that’s the case; could I request the number of PCNs handed out as well (assuming these are handed out if the original prescription is not paid when requested).’

Your request was received on 25 September 2022 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Response

September 2020 to 2021

Please note that the issuing of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) and enquiry letters was paused during this period, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, we do not hold this information.

September 2021 to 2022

A copy of the information is attached. Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data.

Enquiry letter

Initial contact sent to patients when they have claimed they are in receipt of an exemption and this cannot be matched against our records. Patients are invited to confirm their entitlement to free prescriptions within 28 days of the letter.

Easement case

Refers to cases that have been reduced to prescription charge only.

Maternity Exemption (Matex) Complaints

No information is held relating to complaints about PCNs specifically claimed for Matex exemptions as the complaints data is not broken down into that level of detail.

Data Queries

If you have any queries regarding the data provided, or if you plan on publishing the data please contact nhsbsa.foirequests@nhs.net ensuring you quote the above reference. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

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