Private Medical Insurance

HC Deb 15 February 1990 vol 167 c386

12. Mr. Turner

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much private medical insurance tax relief will cost in a full year.

Mr. Lilley

About £40 million.

Mr. Turner

Is not the Government's conscience troubled when they give away that sort of money to people who are relatively well off and when district health authorities such as mine in Wolverhampton and elsewhere are closing beds and wards, when waiting lists are growing and when the fabric of the buildings is deteriorating? How can the Government justify giving away that sort of money when all those problems exist in our hospitals and in the National Health Service generally?

Mr. Lilley

If the relief on private medical insurance for the elderly is as successful as the Opposition appear to fear, it will pay for itself, because the National Health Service will be relieved of 100 per cent. of the cost of providing treatment for those subsequently cared for by the private sector, whereas the fiscal loss will be either 25 or 40 per cent. of the cost of premiums.

Mr. Charles Wardle

Will not tax relief on private medical insurance for the elderly mean shorter NHS waiting lists to everybody's benefit as more pensioners opt for private treatment? Does my hon. Friend agree that it typical of the Opposition to begrudge a little tax relief to pensioners who mean to care for themselves if they possibly can?

Mr. Lilley

My hon. Friend makes a good point and puts the case cogently for that relief, which I believe will be widely welcomed by pensioners.