I was given an Accucheck meter by the DN for which I was prescribed 50 strips a month. I switched to the Contour next one and asked for the prescription to be changed to reflect this, the DN said it was not possible, but on the grounds of COST.
She told me that they were limited to prescribing strips that cost no more than 10 quid to the NHS and that the contour ones were 15. Of course this all went out of the window when the doc stopped my Gliclazide prescription
I buy my own strips now, the contour and the iPhone app are way better than many others I have read about.