§ 12. Mr. Gurdenasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what study has been made into the nett saving to the Treasury if individuals were allowed income tax deduction for payments on private health service through approved societies.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinProposals for saving in Government spending are constantly under review.
§ Mr. GurdenDoes my hon. Friend agree that we should encourage the saving of expense to the Exchequer and lessen the load on the Health Service by this method and save people having to pay twice for the same service?
§ Mr. JenkinI must beg to doubt my hon. Friend's suggestion on this matter. No evidence has been presented to us that there would be any significant saving in the cost to the Health Service if his suggestion were approved, and our own studies do not establish that there would be such a saving.
§ Mr. LiptonIs the Minister aware that some of us have lost count of the number of things that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has under review? Will he publish the relevant statistics on this matter when he next publishes statistics?
§ Mr. JenkinI can only suggest that the hon. Gentleman has chosen the wrong Question on which to put that supplementary, because it did not arise from anything I said.