From a parliamentary question on Thursday, we see the comparative cost of the Council Tax bill for a Band D home, which is the average size and cost of a home across the UK, is much lower in Scotland than in England and considerably lower than in Labour-run Wales.
Talking-up Scotland 
Facts might be ‘Cheils that winna ding”, but, if Ruth Davidson’s Conservative and Unionist Party says that Scotland is ‘the highest taxed part of the UK’, then their press section aka BBC Scotland News and Current Affairs, will dutifully repeat it and add that serving soldiers (“Our boys”[some of whom think it is fun to use a photo of Jeremy Corbyn for target practice]) earning above a particular level pay approximately £5 a week more tax, ignoring levels of Council Tax, free prescriptions, free higher education.
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Hi Alasdair – Regular service personnel receive free prescriptions or are able to recover the cost from the MOD. See link and snippets below: I wonder if that means that NHS Scotland is ‘subsidising’ the MOD by providing free prescriptions or if service personnel based in Scotland would still use the FMed 296 forms? – I really don’t have a clue – Interesting philosophical idea though – If NHS Scotland is providing free prescriptions to these service personnel then I hope (but don’t anticipate) that the britnat eedjits who rant on regarding the GERS ‘blackhole’ make some adjustment in the accounts to capture this.
https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/opinion/comment/do-you-know-what-to-do-when-you-are-presented-with-a-military-prescription/11026335.article?firstPass=false
Standard military prescriptions are written on a FMed 296 form and should be treated as a private prescription by non-contracted pharmacies, and the person presenting it should pay full costs
Ensure service personnel receive a receipt for NHS prescriptions so they can reclaim costs.
The Ministry of Defence will not accept invoices for prescription costs unless by prior agreement
An invoice for services is sent directly to the MOD rather than requiring the individual service person to pay.
In the unusual event that an FMed 296 is presented to a non-contracted pharmacy, it should be treated as a private prescription and the person presenting it should pay full costs before receiving the medicine(s). It is then up to individuals to recover any costs through their military unit, if entitled. This will depend on them having had prior authorisation to use a non-contracted pharmacy.
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