Spending cash on Nice drugs the right thing
SHOCK HORROR, sitting deputies are writing full-page features for the Press. I personally see nothing wrong with that – if you do not like it, do not read them. Simples, as the advert would say. Of course I am sure the Press would happily print letters from deputies with other viewpoints.
Anyway, I am getting worried, because I am sometimes agreeing with both Gavin’s [St Pier] and Peter’s [Roffey] points of view. Of particular note, I have to support Deputy Roffey for his amendment to give island residents the Nice-approved drugs that the Assembly agreed to in the past. It would be a kick in the teeth for sick islanders to be deprived of the drugs available to everyone else in Great Britain.
How is it to be funded some may ask? Peter states it will be nothing near the £8m. being bandied around, but what if it was? Do I remember someone saying that the increase in duties raised on alcohol and tobacco was around £8m. last year due to people not travelling and therefore not bringing duty free items in to Guernsey? Well, there is your answer, remove duty-free allowances on alcohol and tobacco coming into Guernsey. I admit to enjoying a gin and something, but am quite happy to pay the duty on it to support our infrastructure.
We are spending lots of money on health, I am assured that there are local people very seriously ill in UK hospitals who dabbled in so-called ‘legal highs’ and I think people would be shocked to know how much that is costing us. Meanwhile the purveyors of these filthy products got away scot-free and made a lot of money out of gullible youngsters. We spend lots of money on seriously autistic people, many of whom are back in Guernsey, much to the relief of their families, and I believe we are saving money by having them in assisted living here. So, in the grand scheme of things, the money spent on Nice-approved drugs would be a low percentage of the health budget.
TREVOR HOCKEY