§ Mr. Sidney Irvingasked the Minister of Health what percentage of the total cost in the last 12 months of the health services was spent on mental health services; and how this was divided between hospital services and community services, respectively.
§ Mr. Walker-SmithIn the last financial year for which accounts are available—the year ended 31st March, 1957—about 11½ per cent. of the total cost (about £585 million) of the National Health Service is identifiable as having been spent on mental health services. This includes 11 per cent. by hospitals (about 19¼ per cent. of their expenditure) and ½ per cent. by local health authorities (about 5½ per cent. of their expenditure).
Certain administrative expenses of hospital authorities which cannot readily be identified with individual hospitals, and the cost of beds for mental illness in acute hospitals which cannot be separately ascertained are not included as part of the cost of mental health services. Similarly local health authorities incur some additional expenditure on mental health which is not separable from that on their other services.