ABSTRACT
Some commentators have suggested that the use of charges discriminates unfairly against low income consumers. However, the weight of evidence supports the conclusion of the Royal Commission on the National Health Service that charges may disproportionately increase administrative costs and ’could well discourage patients from seeking help when they really needed it’. In general, the analysis of the effect of charges on the demand for school meals focuses less on the level of the charge than on the impact of the means test used in the assessment of eligibility for free school meals. The impact of charges on the demand for personal social services is an area in which there has been almost no systematic and rigorous investigation. Although the deterrent influence of charges manifested in this way may be a continual process, it may be expected to peak immediately around the time of a price increase.
