MORE EFFICIENCY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 150, 22 December 1938, Page 7

MORE EFFICIENCY

PHARMACY PLAN

FEE AND LEVY

REGULATIONS GAZETTED

Regulations under the Board of Trade Act, 1919, and the Industrial Efficiency Act, 1936, which came into force yesterday, are gazetted setting forth the procedure necessary in connection with the industrial plan prepared by the Bureau of Industry for/ the reorganisation of pharmacies. The Minister of Industries and Commerce (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) has intimated that meanwhile no action will be necessary on the part of those engaged in the industry as they will be communicated with individually by the bureau.

The regulations are known as the Industrial Efficiency (Pharmacy) Regulations, 1938, and under them the Pharmacy Plan Industrial Committee, the personnel of which has been announced, is given powers to carry out a number of duties. These include the right to make recommendations on applications for licences or transfer* of licences, and in regard to increases or reductions in the annual licence fee and levy for which the regulations provide. The committee is to conduct surveys of the distribution and operation of pharmacies and the public service rendered by them and to classify them into such groups as may be considered desirable. It may require pharmacists to furnish balance-sheets and other information. It shall have power to arrange amalgamations and transfers of pharmacies, and shall make recommendations when necessary to the bureau for the payment of compensation,for loss of business or otherwise in any cases where the payment of such compensation is deemed for the carrying out of the plan to be necessary or desirable. PRICES PAID AND CHARGED. The, committee may investigate the prices and conditions under which pharmacists purchase drugs and may formulate such proposals as may .be deemed necessary or desirable. It is also to investigate the prices heretofore charged by pharmacists for drugs and medicines either when included in' prescriptions or when sold or dispensed uncompounded, <and to prepare and issue prescription' pricing schedules setting out the sums to be charged by pharmacists to customers for compounding prescriptions, for supplying ingredients, and for other incidental charges. The committee may from time to time amehdi revoke, or replace any of the prescription pricing schedules. An annual licence fee of £1 and an annual levy for each pharmacy, computed as follows, will be charged:— Pharmacies with a sales turnover not' exceeding £1000, £4; exceeding £1000 but not exceeding £2000, £5; exceeding £2000 but not exceeding £3000, £6; exceeding £3000 butvnot exceeding £4000, £7; exceeding £4000 but not exceeding £5000, £8;' exceeding £5000, £8, plus, 10s for each £500 of . /sales turnover exceeding £5000 STATEMENT BY MINISTER. In a statement issued last evening the Minister of Industries and, Commerce (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) made reference to 5 the regulations. "I announced earlier in the year," he said, "that an industrial plan prepared, by the Bureau of Industry under the Industrial Efficiency Act for' reorganisation of the pharmacy industry had been accepted by more than 90 per cent, of the retail pharmacists throughout the' Dominion. \ For the purpose of carrying out the* proposals of the plan, I announced some time ago my appointment of members of the pharmacy plan industrial committee constituted in accordance with the proposals set out in the plan and representative of the Government and all - sections of the industry. This committee has done a considerable amount of preliminary work, and the regulations now published provide the necessary authority for the committee to carry out its work. The powers given to the committee in the regulations are those necessary to give effect to the ■ proposed powers and functions of the committee as set out in the plan and . approved by the industry. "Concerning the licence fee and leVy," continued the Minister, "it will be observed that the scale set but in.' ■ the regulations provides for considerably lower;amounts than provided for in the plan. Actually the plan provided for an annual levy of £10 a pharmacy, plus an additional £1 per annum for each £500 of sales turnover in excess of £5000, but, after carefully ',' investigating the matter, the industrial committee has ; satisfied me that a lower scale would return sufficient revenue for the administration and expenditure involved. Accordingly, the committee has recommended the scale now approved by the Government in the regulations. "It will be seen that the levy is a graduated one, which will mean that the smaller pharmacies will now pay only £5 or £6 a shop according to*turnover. The Bureau of Industrywill be communicating individually with all pharmacists as soon as possible, informing them of the procedure to be followed in lodging applications for licences, so that meanwhile no action will be necessary on the part of those engaged in the industry." ■ : APPEAL FOR CO-OPERATION. Mr. Sullivan said that the Govern- '. ment and the Bureau of Industry had made every possible endeavour to assist pharmacists to rehabilitate their industry. "I appeal to all pharmacists <?n their part," said Mr, Sullivan, "toextend that measure of co-operation to their industrial committee which1 will enable it to administer the regulations to the best advantage of the. industry. I believe that the basis is laid in the regulations for greatly-im-proved conditions in the retail pharmacy industry, and, in my opinion a new and better era is dawning for the - pharmacists of our Dominion."

At last night's meeting of the Upper Hutt Borough Council Dalgety and Co. were granted a renewal for five years of their permit to operate the borough stockyards. The applicants have agreed to demolish the eight cattle pens facing Queen Street, to concrete the remaining yards, and to carry out other improvements. ,

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. "Troy."—As there is no Troy pound, one pound of gold can only weigh one pound avoirdupois. The Troy ounce contains 480 grains; the avoirdupois ounce is • 437% grains.